A 22-year-old man who tried to drive home to Rishton after drinking in Skipton ended up crashing into a tree, a court heard.
Blackburn magistrates were told a witness who had been "appalled" by Roger Rawcliffe's driving had called police and followed the building society worker.
And he told of his amazement how, after seeing debris fly as the car collided with the tree before spinning through 360 degrees, the driver got out unscathed.
"He is very lucky to survive this incident and it is more by luck than good management that nobody else was injured," said Charlotte Crane, prosecuting.
Rawcliffe, 22, of Tottleworth, Rishton, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
He was remanded on bail for a pre-sentence report after the magistrates.
Miss Crane said Rawcliffe first came to the attention of the witness as he was driving towards Gisburn from Skipton at about 3.10pm.
She said that on several occasions he veered on to the grass verge and then over the central white line. The other driver was so concerned he called the police.
Imran Hussain, defending, said Rawcliffe had been working in Skipton and at lunch time had gone to a pub to check the cricket score. While he was in the pub he was joined by colleagues and ended up having about five pints.
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