A FORMER Worcester Warriors player crashed his car after drinking five or six pints of lager.

Darrel Matthews, aged 35, was driving a BMW when the car was in a head-on collision with another car, an Audi.

Worcester magistrates heard that Matthews checked that the driver of the other car was unharmed, and then drove off.

Matthews was jailed after admitting drink-driving, driving while disqualified, driving without insurance and failing to stop after an accident.

Prosecutor Kerry Lovegrove told the court that in 2014, Matthews had been disqualified from driving for three years after being convicted on a charge of dangerous driving.

Although the term of the ban had expired, Matthews had not taken the extended retest that would enable him to re-qualify for driving, and so was still barred from getting behind the wheel.

He also had two previous drink-driving convictions.

On June 30 at about 11.15pm, the collision took place on the A46 at Evesham, with Matthews, of Kings Lane, Norton, near Evesham, driving home afterwards.

When police called at his home later that night, he admitted he had been involved in the collision.

A breath test showed a reading of 78 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath; the limit is 35.

Belinda Harris, for Matthews, said he was now a farmer, but had been a player for Worcester Warriors, playing for the club at a “high level.”

However, his sporting career had stalled due to injuries including several broken bones.

He also has a bad back, and was due to have an operation later this month to deal with it.

But despite a plea that he be spared prison because of the operations and to look after his livestock, magistrates sent him to prison for 23 weeks. He was also given a further three-year driving ban.