A DRINK-driver more than twice the limit smashed his BMW into a lamp-post, walked off and told police the car had been stolen, a court heard.

Karl Ian May, 39, was arrested after a witness spotted him going into his home 200 yards away, and alerted officers.

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He eventually owned up when questioned a second time, saying he had fled because he panicked.

Burnley magistrates heard that May had started binge drinking to ‘anaesthetise himself’ after his life had fallen apart.

His business had gone bust, he had personally gone bankrupt and his marriage had ended. At the time of the crash, on August 28, he’d had a £50,000 a year job, which involved driving, but he was immediately sacked.

He was now due to start new employment, earning £32,000 a year, in Bolton.

May, of Burnley Road, Hapton, admitted drink-driving on Burnley Road and was banned for 20 months and told to pay £536 in fines, costs and victim surcharge.

Tracy Yates, prosecuting, said that at about 11pm, the witness saw two men walking away from the accident scene and up a driveway at the side of a house. She phoned the police and pointed to the property.

Officers attended and spoke to a man who claimed he had been out drinking and had returned home to find his car missing.

But he matched the description given by the witness, was arrested and gave a test showing 88 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mrs Yates said May was questioned and claimed the car keys must have been stolen due to an insecure door.

He was then questioned again, confirmed he was the driver, had had a lot to drink before getting into the vehicle to drive back home, lost control on a bend and panicked. He then apologised. The defendant had no previous convictions.

Richard Silver, defending, said May recognised he behaved very stupidly. He owned up as soon as he sobered up. He was a hard-working, respectable, decent man. His business went bankrupt due to the recession and being burgled and he personally then went bankrupt as a result.

He lost the equity in his house and his marriage broke down.

Mr Silver said the defendant had “lost a very, very good job” with a pension because of the offence.