POLICE who found a car in the middle of a main road with its engine running and minus a tyre saw joiner Sean Molyneux slumped over the steering wheel, a court heard yesterday.

Molyneux, 24, travelled with friends from his home in Southport to spend the night at a club in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Caroline Midgley, prosecuting, told the town's magistrates.

Because of the amount of alcohol that he had drunk - tests showed that he was over the drink-drive limit nearly 14 hours later - he fell asleep in the Po Na Na club and was asked to leave.

Andrew Sumner gave Molyneux the keys to his Ford Fiesta car and told him to sleep there until the rest of the group was ready to go home.

But, at 2.15am on February 23, police found the car on the A61 Harrogate to Ripon road, three miles out of town.

Mrs Midgley said: "It was stationary in the middle of the road, with its lights on and the engine running, and Molyneux was slumped over the wheel.

"The car was damaged to the front nearside wheel, which had its tyre missing, and there was evidence that it had been driven for some distance on its wheel rim."

Molyneux pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen.

Hwas fined £180, with £70 costs, and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

He admitted aggravated vehicle taking and not having insurance and was fined £100 on each charge.

Vicky James, mitigating, said that how Molyneux had come to be driving was a mystery to him.