A 26-YEAR-OLD man was breathalysed after he returned to his broken-down van to arrange for it to be towed away.

Blackburn magistrates heard Anthony Worswick had left the vehicle to go home and get a mobile phone, but found police on the scene when he returned.

Worswick, of Brantwood, Clayton-le-Moors, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol. He was fined £250, with £110 costs, and banned from driving for 12 months.

Catherine Allan, prosecuting, said police came across an abandoned van at the junction of Dunkenhalgh Way and Blackburn Road, at about 8am.

At that point, Worswick came back and explained he had gone home to get a working mobile, so he could arrange for the van to be recovered. An officer smelled alcohol and required him to take a breath test.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said Worswick could have denied driving the van, and police would not have been able to prove otherwise. “He was entirely honest with the police,” said Mr Church-Taylor.

“He did not think he would still be over the limit, having been out with friends in Bolton the previous evening.”