AN 'exhausted' former night porter at Airedale General Hospital who went for a drive after drinking a bottle of wine has been given a community sentence by Skipton magistrates.

Jack Meynell, 55, was more than three times over the limit when a concerned member of the public found him slumped over the wheel of his Citroen Berlingo in West Hall Lane, Nesfield on February 3, the court heard.

He had finished work at the hospital at 2am and had drunk a bottle of wine at home before setting off in his car, and had remembered nothing until the police arrived.

Meynell had been seen earlier by the member of public twice drive into a drystone wall in a farmyard off West Hall Lane, said prosecutor, Melanie Ibbotson.

She said the man had asked Meynell if he needed help before getting in his own car to follow him as he drove off to make sure he was all right.

He caught up with Meynell on West Hall Lane who was slumped on his steering wheel and called the police. A roadside breath test was positive, and was taken to the police station where he was found to have 120 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35.

Meynell, of Victoria Road, Ilkley, admitted drink driving, and also driving without due care and attention, and failing to stop after an accident.

In a pre-sentence report, the court heard that Meynell 'self-medicated' with drink to cope with exhaustion and stress, but that since the incident, had not drunk to excess and had switched from working nights.

In mitigation, Ansar Khan said Meynell was a hospital porter and had been working nights at the time.

In order to cope with the stresses of working in the NHS, he 'off loaded' with drink. He said he did not know how he had come to be on the road to Bolton Abbey, was full of remorse and was so disgusted with himself, he had disposed of his vehicle, was now working days at the hospital, and was relying on public transport.

Meynell was given a 12 month community sentence and banned from driving for 29 months. He will have to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and complete up to 20 rehabilitation requirement days to address issues with alcohol. His licence will also be endorsed, and he will have to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £85. There was no separate penalty for failing to stop at the scene of an accident. If he completes a drink drivers rehabilitation course, his ban will be reduced by 29 weeks.