A construction worker who was found drunk and slumped at the wheel of his car has been sentenced to community service.

Patrick Henry Smith, of Callow’s Yard, Castletown, admitted an offence of being drunk in charge of a vehicle and also had his licence endorsed with 10 penalty points.

Prosecuting advocate Roger Kane told the court how police were called to Arbory Street in Castletown on July 8 at 10.18pm.

They had received a report of a man slumped in his car and a witness said they could not rouse him.

When police arrived they found Smith, who is 58, slumped in his Audi A3 with loud music playing.

Officers knocked on the window to try to rouse him but there was no response.

They opened the door and Smith was said to have fell towards them.

He failed a subsequent breathalyser test with a reading of 107 - the legal limit is 35.

When interviewed later Smith said he had got into the car after an argument with his wife but had no intention of driving. He said he had only been using the heating in the car to get warm but admitted drinking half a bottle of vodka.

Defence advocate Paul Glover stressed that, even though the reading was very high, the charge was being drunk in charge of a vehicle rather than drink-driving and said that his client had no convictions since 1987 with nothing similar.

’He informs me he had argued with his partner and gone to the car,’ said Mr Glover.

The advocate said that Smith was currently signed off work with a wrist injury and was awaiting an operation which had been cancelled due to the pandemic.

A probation report said that Smith had gone for a walk after rowing with his wife before getting into the car.

Smith told probation that he and his wife had been in quarantine for 14 days shortly before the incident due to her returning from Canada.

The report said that a financial penalty was unrealistic, due to Smith being currently unable to work in his profession of construction due to his wrist injury, and recommended community service.

High Bailiff Jayne Hughes accepted that Smith had not been intending to drive and warned him that he could have been looking at a custodial sentence if that had been the case.

He was ordered to do 90 hours unpaid work, 10 of those hours being in lieu of prosecution costs.