A 43-YEAR-OLD man who had drunk most of a bottle of vodka while waiting outside his ex-girlfriend’s house told police he would have driven home.

Carl Farricker, of Bold Street, Accrington, pleaded guilty to being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. He was fined £350, ordered to pay £100 costs, and his licence was endorsed with 10 penalty points.

He was banned from driving for 56 days under the totting up procedure.

Janet Symes, defending, said Farricker had not been drinking before driving to his ex-girlfriend’s house to recover his mobile phone. He had drunk the vodka while waiting outside.