A FATHER-OF-THREE crashed and overturned the van he was driving after drinking five pints.

Timothy Charles Edward Daw, who had to be pulled out of the smoking vehicle by a passer-by, told magistrates that he could not really remember the incident which was all “a blur”.

Southampton Magistrates’ Court heard that the 43-year-old did not remember how he managed to flip the vehicle but Daw suspected a blown tyre had caused the crash.

Rachel Standish, prosecuting, said emergency services received a call from a concerned woman around 9.20pm on Friday, March 3 who said there was a vehicle on its side with someone in it, in Abbey Spring Lane, Beaulieu.

By the time police arrived Daw had been rescued from the vehicle and was being treated by paramedics.

When he had been given the all clear the defendant was breathalysed and police found he had 87 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The legal limit is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

The court heard Daw had admitted to drinking five pints of cider at the The Old Mill Inn, in Lime Kiln Lane, earlier that evening.

Magistrates were told the defendant, who lives in Parkshore, Beaulieu, normally went to the pub after work on a Friday night with his friends before getting a taxi home.

But on this occasion, when he called a taxi none were available so he decided to drive the eight miles home.

In mitigation, Janet Brownlow said: “He was before the court in 1999 when he was younger and more foolish and he thought he had learnt his lesson and changed his ways since then.”

She told the court Daw was of a good character and was a hard working man with his own scaffolding company.

She described Daw as being very remorseful and ashamed of his actions.

Chairman of the bench, Mrs Anne Fielder disqualified Daw from driving for 20 months and ordered him to pay a £600 fine, a £60 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.