A KIDDERMINSTER musician found sleeping behind the wheel of his car, drunk, has been banned from driving for 23 months.

Erwin Kania, who was not driving at the time, was almost three times over the drink-drive limit when he was found by police officers dozing in his BMW in Comberton Hill at 3.20pm on August 29.

But, Mark Soper, prosecuting, said the officers were not only concerned about the 45-year-old, they were also concerned that the car appeared to be started with a screwdriver and there was damage to the ignition.

He said: "Officers saw him in the driver's seat apparently asleep - his chin was on his chest. They were concerned about him. It was clear to the officers he had been drinking, and there was some concern about the vehicle as it had been started with a screwdriver and there was some damage to the ignition."

Although Kania was not found driving, the officers became aware he had been driving earlier in the day as CCTV showed him driving up the hill from Kidderminster town centre at around 10am before parking and going to a nearby food outlet.

Kania, of Bewdley Road, Kidderminster, pleaded guilty to drink-driving, having given a reading of 102 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, over the legal limit of 35 mcg, when he appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates' Court on Thursday, September 17.

Defence solicitor Tim Gascoyne welcomed a report from West Mercia Probation Service before sentencing took place.

A representative from the service told the court Kania suffered from mental health issues which stopped him from working, and at the time of the incident he was under a lot of stress from his mother, to whom he was no longer speaking, after suffering years of alleged mental abuse.

Chairman of the bench Sue Roberts sentenced him to a 12-month community order with a requirement to undertake 50 hours of unpaid work, which he assured the court he could complete.

He was disqualified from driving for 23 months, but offered the chance to reduce that ban by 25 per cent by taking part in a drink-drive rehabilitation course, and ordered to pay £150 in court charges and a £60 victim surcharge.