A drink driver who didn't think he was over the limit – despite drinking around five pints of lager hours earlier – called the police to tell them he'd crashed.

Gareth William Edward Maxwell, 37, was fined £623 and banned from driving for 14 months at Workington Magistrates Court on Friday.

Peter Bardsley, prosecuting, said Maxwell, of Main Street, Frizington, had been driving along Trumpet Terrace, in Cleator, towards Frizington when he collided with another vehicle at around 4.30am on November 18.

The court heard how the defendant told police he had drank four or five pints of lager at a friend's house but stopped drinking at midnight.

Mr Bardsley said Maxwell, in his police interview, said the car had pulled out in front of him and he didn't have time to stop.

Tests found he had 52mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Maxwell, who wasn't represented in court, said: "It was me who phoned the police. I didn't believe I was over the limit for some reason."

The magistrates recognised Maxwell had been the one to call the police but said a member of the public could have been hurt in the collision.

He was also ordered to pay a £62 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.