A WIMBORNE man was celebrating May Day when he performed ‘donuts’ in a four-by-four on a community cricket pitch, a court heard.

Alan William Hogg, 33, had started drinking at 5am on May 1 before watching Morris dancing in the town, prosecutor Heather Jackson said.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court heard on Monday that a passer-by had seen a car being driven onto the National Trust cricket pitch at Pamphill Green, and then heard it “moving around in circles”.

Later, Hogg was reported driving his partner’s Suzuki Vitara at speed along a bridleway at Chilbridge Farm when he lost control and crashed through a fence.

He was later arrested by police after he was spotted driving erratically in Stone Lane.

Hogg, of Juniper Close, Three Legged Cross, admitted drink-driving – with 77 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – driving while disqualified and without insurance, failing to stop and causing damage to property.

In mitigation, Mark Hensleigh said Hogg, who is on benefits and takes medication for “serious problems in his life”, hadn’t realised he was driving on the cricket pitch, used by Kingston Lacy Cricket Club, believing it to be common land, and that only “outfield” was damaged.

The magistrates described Hogg’s “one after the other” record of drink-driving and driving while disqualified offences as “appalling”.

They imposed a jail term of six weeks, suspended for 18 months with supervision, and banned him from driving for four years.

He was told he would have to retake his driving test before getting his licence back, and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.