A MAN who wasn’t allowed to drink in the house because his stepfather was a recovering alcoholic downed eight pints while he was sitting in his car outside.

Blackburn magistrates heard police were alerted to a man asleep in a car and when they woke Matthew Barratt he gave a roadside breathalyser reading nearly three times the legal limit.

Barratt, 38, of Spencer Street, Accrington, admitted being in charge of a vehicle while above the legal alcohol limit. He was fined £120 and his licence endorsed with 10 penalty points. He already had six points on his licence and was disqualified for six months under the totting-up procedure.

Gillian Kennaugh, prosecuting, said when police arrived Barratt was asleep in his car and the keys were in the ignition.

Ben Leech, defending, said Barratt had previously worked as an electrician’s mate and rented a room off his boss. The work finished with the start of lockdown in March and he had moved back in with his mum and her partner.

“His stepfather is a recovering alcoholic and it was made clear to him there was no drink allowed in the house,” said Mr Leech.

“He became somewhat down during lockdown and having parked the car in April it became a place of solace, somewhere he could go for a drink on his own.”

Mr Leech said on the night he was arrested Barratt had not driven.