Defendant: '˜I ran off because I was drunk'

Lee Woodies aroused police suspicion when he passed two officers in a car at speed and swerving all over the road in the early hours after going to a party.

After stopping the van he was chased and caught by the officers – and when asked why he had run off, he replied “because I’m drunk.”

Woodies, 42, of Custom House Lane, Fleetwood, who is on life licence from prison for an offence of arson, pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent and driving it with excess alcohol while disqualified.

He was sentenced to 12 weeks’ jail suspended for 18 months, with up to 15 days rehabilitation to be supervised by the Probation Service, disqualified from driving for 40 months and ordered to pay £85 costs.