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Drink driver caught after parking sideways over three bays in McDonald's car park

A driver was found to be four times the legal limit when police caught him parked sideways across three bays in a McDonald's car park.

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Daljit Singh was found in the car park of McDonald's on Stafford Road. Photo: Google

Daljit Singh told police he was watching a movie in his car outside his house in Springfield Road, Wolverhampton, when they questioned him after he was arrested in the early hours of Sunday morning.

But when officers told the 43-year-old they had actually arrested him on the car park on Stafford Road, his response was "oh dear", Walsall Magistrates' Court heard on Monday.

Miss Helen Shipley, prosecuting, said: "A member of the public was at McDonald's at 1.30am in the morning on February 17, when his attention is drawn to a man who was walking across the car park.

"He said 'as soon as I saw the man it was obvious he was very very drunk, he was very unstable swaying all over the place'.

"He dropped something on the floor and spend some time looking for it, because he was that drunk he was struggling with the door handle.

"The man contacted the police and waited for about eight to 10 minutes for the police.

"He took some minutes to get into the car and was then sat in the driver's side swaying from side to side.

"The vehicle moved slightly before stalling, then he reversed his car around 10 yards, pulled forward and stopped.

"He remained in this position until the police arrived."

Walsall Magistrates' Court

When officers arrived they saw Singh parked sideways across three car parking bays and could smell intoxicants, according to Miss Shipley.

She also said there was a whiskey bottle in the car with around a quarter left.

Miss Shipley added: "He initially denied drink driving and said he was watching a movie outside his house, then the police told him where he was arrested and he said 'oh dear'."

The court was told Singh was previously convicted for drink driving in January 2015.

Singh pleaded guilty to driving without insurance, without a licence, and with 140 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Singh was given an interim driving disqualification and was put on a curfew from 7pm to 7am and bailed to appear at Walsall Magistrates Court again on March 11 while reports are prepared.

Judge David Webster said: "These are serious charges and you risk being sent to prison."

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