Immature drink driver Richard Sharpe crashed his car, fled the scene and had another stiff drink to steady his nerves, a court heard.

Richard Sharpe, 28, sought solace in an 86 per cent proof Filipino wine after arriving distressed on his brother's doorstep.

Sharpe, formerly of Handley Green, Laindon, was three times over the legal drink-drive limit when he was breathalysed by police officers following the incident.

Lynn Power, prosecuting, said a witness who lived near Sharpe heard him working on and revving his car throughout the day of the accident.

She told magistrates that he had been seen to drive off to town "unsafely" - speeding and screeching his tyres.

As darkness fell, the same witness saw Sharpe drive off again, hit the kerb, mount the pavement and plough into a cable TV box. He drove off, and she phoned the police.

When Sharpe returned shortly afterwards, he was arrested. Sharpe, who now lives in Swanstead, Basildon, maintained he was at work while the car was being worked on.

Glenda Thompson, defending, said Sharpe's previous convictions were largely drink-related. He was "extremely immature", she added.

Sharpe, who was convicted of drink-driving, driving without insurance, and failing to report for bail in an earlier hearing at Basildon Magistrates' Court, was fined £250.

He was also put on probation for two years.

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