A DRUNK man who was 'stumbling' along the A66 after a night out was trying to make the 20-mile journey home on foot.

Byron Rogers, 34, was seen by police ‘slumped’ over a fence alongside the A66 Stainburn Bypass at 5.30am on April 21.

Pamela Fee, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, said Rogers tried to walk off, telling officers he was walking towards Wigton. He was offered lifts but refused.

Rogers was then ‘stumbling’ along the A66, a ‘very busy highway’, the court heard. He smelled strongly of alcohol and police felt it was ‘extremely unsafe’ for him to walk home.

He was arrested for being drunk on a highway.

John Cooper, defending, said: “I don’t think he’s in the middle of the A66 – he’s on the edge. They obviously didn’t want him walking home to Wigton. He probably wouldn’t have made it home.

“He has been out for a night in town. I think he’s realised the person most at risk is himself. Police have done him a massive favour.”  

Rogers, of Levens Drive, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to being drunk on a highway.

He was fined £40 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £16 victim surcharge.