An Alston man convicted of a drink driving type offence asked a judge to excuse him from his unpaid work - because there are not enough buses to get him into Carlisle.

David Clarke, 49, was given a suspended 50-day prison sentence after he was caught drunk in charge of a vehicle.

His sentence included a 12-month driving ban, and a requirement to complete 40 hours of unpaid work in the community.

But he went back to Carlisle's Rickergate Magistrates' Court this week to plead for a more lenient sentence.

A Probation Service officer told District Judge Gerald Chalk that it had not been possible to arrange unpaid work for Clarke in Alston, and that his efforts to do the work in Carlisle were frustrated by the lack of regular buses from his home town.

The judge said it appeared he was being asked to reduce Clarke's sentence "for no good reason."

"There are only buses from Alston on a Tuesday and a Thursday," said the probation officer, who was presenting the application on behalf of the community rehabilitation company which is supervising the defendant's unpaid work.

"None of it is Mr Clarke's fault," added the officer.

Addressing the judge himself, Clarke said: "The bus time-table [from Alston] has recently changed. I was due to get the 9.30am bus from Alston, which got me into Carlisle at 10.50am. My appointment with Probation was just after 11am.

"The bus [back to Alston] then left at 12.20pm.

"It gave me plenty of time to have a full consultation.

"But the bus timetable has changed for the winter one, so the bus leaves earlier and arrives later."

The judge suggested that the information he was being given indicated that Clarke was only available for his alloted rehabilitation "days" for around 40 minutes per week.

"I can't believe the nature of this order," said the judge.

"Nothing seems to be happening. They're called rehabilitation days, not hours."

He adjourned the case for a week so that more information can be gathered about the problems with administering the order.

Clarke said he is currently sofa-surfing - staying with a series of friends.

His original conviction came after he was caught in charge of a motor vehicle at Queensmere, Chester-le-Street, on September 26 last year, while having 155mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath — the legal limit is 35mg.

He was convicted of the offence in his absence.

Magistrates heard that Clarke had a history of drink-driving and it was an exceptionally high reading. His sentence included a six-month treatment program for alcohol dependency. The address he formerly gave to the court was The Angel Inn, Alston.