A DRUNKEN driver told police he had behaved like a 'bloody idiot,' having collided with two vehicles and crashed into a garden fence.

Martyn Whalley was at the wheel of his employer's car when the incident took place. And his boss went to Preston Crown Court to speak of how the defendant had worked exceptionally well for a cabinet firm when Whalley appeared for sentence.

The 38-year-old of Adelaide Terrace, Blackburn, was ordered to carry out 140 hours community work and banned from driving for three years for offences of dangerous driving and failing to provide a specimen.

Mr Keith Thomas, prosecuting, said Whalley was driving a Peugeot 406 on Openshaw Drive, Blackburn, last November when he collided with a parked car and did not stop.

The defendant passed the Farthing pub and went round a bend on the wrong side of the road, at speed. Whalley's car only had one headlight on and the bumper was hanging off.

An oncoming driver tried to swerve out of the way, but was caught on a wheel arch.

Mr Charles Brown, defending, said Whalley had no recollection or precise details of what took place.

The defendant, a former member of the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was discharged with a blemish on his character from the forces. His employer described him as having done exceptionally well as a salesman for the firm.