A DRINK-driver who was more than twice the limit crashed into a telephone pole after falling asleep at the wheel.

Darren Oliver crashed into the pole in Leigh Sinton, near Worcester, while more than twice the drink-drive limit.

Oliver crashed his Toyota Prius into the pole on the A4103 Hereford Road on June 1 at about 4.40am. He admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court.

Sarah Stock, prosecuting, said: “He appears to have been travelling from the direction of Worcester and had lost control of the vehicle at Leigh Sinton and collided with a telephone pole and caused damage to that and further damage from falling cables.”

He was the only person in the car at the time and no other vehicle was involved in the accident.

A roadside breath test proved positive and he was arrested and taken to Worcester police station.

Because of his asthma he could not provide a specimen of breath and a sample of blood was taken instead.

The reading was 171mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, more than twice the limit of 80mg. Ruth Edwards, defending, said Oliver, aged 37, of Queensway, Hereford, had recently broken up with his partner of eight years.

He had a full, clean driving licence before the offence.

Mrs Edwards said: “He had not appreciated that he drunk sufficiently to put him over the limit because it had been a long period of time.

“He thought he was fine. That accident, he believes, was caused by him falling asleep because it was 4am and he had done a full day’s work.

“He woke up and fortunately was not injured himself.

“No doubt he will get an invoice from whoever owns the poles for the replacement of those.” A passing motorist called the police and Mrs Edwards said her client, who worked as an assessor for an insulation company, had not attempted to distance himself from what happened.

She said: “As he stands here today he has no money and no employment.

“He’s never been out of work since he left school.”

He was disqualified from driving for 20 months, fined £100 and £85 towards prosecution costs. If he completes a course the length of the ban will be redcued by a quarter.

He must complete the course by September 10 next year and pay for it himself.