A LYING drink-driver who wrote off his car but claimed he had only drunk alcohol after he got home was foiled by police – when they asked him to produce his empty beer cans.

Jacob Robertson, of Lough-mill Road, Pershore, claimed he had been drinking after he got home following an incident which wrote off his car, but had to tell the truth when officers asked him to show them his empties.

The 19-year-old apprentice engineer admitted driving with excess alcohol when he appeared at Worcester Mag-istrates Court on Monday, following the incident in his Suzuki carry van, at 11.30pm on September 18.

A breath test at the police station revealed 61mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

The legal limit is 35mcg.

Adrian Jones, prosecuting, said: “He appears to have hit the kerb and rendered his vehicle undriveable. One of the tyres was flat.”

Officers found the vehicle on Three Springs Road then went to see the registered keeper, the defendant, at his home address.

He told officers he had written his vehicle off and that he had a drink when he got home.

Mr Jones said: “The officer said ‘where are the cans?’ He said ‘they’re in the rubbish bin’ but there were no cans to be found.”

He told police he had lied because he had been “worried and in shock” and admitted that he did not have anything to drink after the accident.

Matthew Ansell, defending, said: “Mr Robertson thought he was okay to drive at the time.

“In terms of the comment, it was him saying something in a panic.

“He knew he had had a couple of drinks and wasn’t sure where he was in terms of his alcohol level.

“He very quickly changed his story and made full and frank admissions in a police interview.

“It would have been possible for him to continue with his lie. He didn’t do that.”

He was fined £300, ordered to pay a £30 victim surcharge and £85 costs. He was banned for 16 months and will get a 25 per cent reduction in the length of the ban if he completes a course.