A drink driver was caught after his vehicle collided with a bollard and he failed to stop or report the accident, magistrates heard.

When police caught up with 42-year-old Steven John Gordon, 42, who had consumed twice the legal limit for driving, he candidly admitted he had been drinking and that was why he had failed to report the accident.

The defendant, of George Street, Wigton, admitted drink driving and failing to stop after an accident.

At Carlisle's Rickergate courts complex this week, prosecutor Pam Ward said: “He was aware that he had alcohol in his system and it was a very stupid thing to have done.

"He admitted he should not have been driving,” said the prosecutor.

On the night in question, Gordon had been out with his father and consumed six or seven pints of lager, and stopped drinking between 10pm and 11pm.

Carl Miller, for the defendant, said the defendant was a joiner, currently employed making lodges, which involved him travelling 50,000 miles a year.

Yet Gordon's employer valued him so much that he had been kept on.

The lawyer explained that the defendant had a close relationship with his parents and on the day of the offence he had been visiting his father in Penrith, but during the course of the night his father had become unwell.

“It was upsetting to both of them,” said Mr Miller.

After reflecting on the night, Gordon decided that he did not want to sleep on his father's sofa but wanted to be at home in his own bed.

“So he made the decision to drive,” said the lawyer.

He had collided with the bollard after being blinded by the headlights of an oncoming car, said Mr Miller.

After that collision, he had panicked and driven off, knowing that he was at risk of getting into trouble because he had been drinking. He had then called his mother and asked her to pick him up.

A grafter, he was a man of whom people spoke highly.

The lawyer added: “He knows that he's let himself down, as well as his mum and dad.

"I don't think that you will see him again.”

Magistrates imposed an 18 month driving ban, with a £525 fine, costs of £85, and a £52 victim surcharge.

The defendant indicated that he would be willing to do a drink drivers' rehabilitation course, which would cut his ban by 18 weeks if completed in time.