A drink-driver has been put on probation for six months and banned from the roads for three years.

Fifty-six-year-old Nicholas Adam Fleming admitted the offence as well as one of being drunk in public on a separate date.

We previously reported that, on September 18, police received two reports from members of the public, advising that a male was slumped over his steering wheel, in a Ford Focus, at Archallagan Road in Crosby.

They described the male as ‘out of it’, and when officers arrived they reported that Fleming was slurring his words.

The car keys were in the ignition and when asked if he had been drinking, the defendant said: ‘No.’

Fleming, whose address was given as Raad Roagan in Peel, failed a roadside breathalyser test and was subsequently arrested and taken to police headquarters.

Once there, he took a further test which produced a reading of 82, more than double the legal limit of 35.

During an interview, Fleming remained silent.

On September 27, at 2.45pm, a member of the public called police again, advising that a man was lying underneath a van at Upper Dukes Road in Douglas.

When officers arrived, they found Fleming asleep, with his head on the pavement and his legs on the chassis of a car, and a bottle of vodka next to him.

Defence advocate Paul Glover said: ‘For a period now, Mr Fleming has had an extremely unhealthy relationship with alcohol to say the least.’

Mr Glover said that it was staggering that his whole criminal record had been accumulated in a 12 month period.

‘He wants to get his life back on track,’ said the advocate.

Magistrates also ordered the defendant to take an extended driving test at the end of his ban and to complete a drink-driving rehabilitation course.