A drink-driver who was banned for three years after reversing 10 feet won an appeal at Worcester Crown Court.

Andrew Duce was worried his parked car might be vandalised after 50 youths began causing trouble near shops.

He was moving his Mitsubishi to a pub car park when he was approached by police, alerted to the area to deal with the disturbance.

A breath test showed a reading of 72 compared with the legal limit of 35, said Andrew Davidson, for the prosecution.

Because 42-year-old Duce, of Willowfield Drive, Kidderminster, had a previous conviction for driving with excess alcohol in 1998, he was disqualified for three years by magistrates.

But defence counsel Delroy Henry argued that the ban was excessive because father-of-two Duce - who admitted drink-driving - had only travelled a very short distance.

The car was being moved from a parking spot by shops on a service road to another parking space on The Roundhead pub in the same street as Duce's home.

Mr Henry said there was no possibility of anyone being put in danger. If Duce had driven home - 400 yards away - he might have had no grounds for appeal.

Recorder Amjad Nawaz reduced the ban to 12 months. A fine of £320 with £150 court costs stands.

The recorder said although Duce was foolish to drive, he was satisfied he only intended to move the car a short distance.

Duce told the court he was a loading bay supervisor and it was crucial to drive because he worked at three different sites for his company.

On January 20 he went for a drink with a friend before getting a taxi back and then going to the shops for food.

When he saw the commotion going on, he got permission from pub landlord Michael Thomas to park overnight.

Mr Thomas told the appeal that youths had caused trouble in the area for six months and were "intimidating" to the public before police regained control.