A drunk driver lost control of his car and crashed into the garden of a home in Bristol, a court heard.

Darusz Rudnicki, 39, of Hillside Road, St George, was more than twice the legal limit when his Rover 416 left the road and went through a garden fence before hitting a curb and coming to rest on its side.

Bristol Magistrates' Court was told that although no one was hurt in the Speedwell crash on August 1, the garden fence and other items in the garden had been "demolished".

Rudnicki pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and was banned from getting behind the wheel for 18 months.

Crown Prosecutor Andrew Edwards said Rudnicki was travelling along Speedwell Road towards the roundabout junction with Whiteway Road before overtaking another vehicle at speed.

She said he then failed to negotiate the roundabout and left the road, went over a footpath and through a garden fence, with the car ending up on its side in a garden.

When he was arrested, a breath test revealed he had 79 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Rudnicki told the police he had been drinking and the accident was his fault.

He told officers he had planned to get drunk alone at home and had been drinking whisky and coke.

The defendant said he couldn't remember why he had left his home.

Sam Stephens, defending, said: "Fortunately, the only damage done was to property. He was feeling a bit low that evening because his wife had just left to go back to Poland.

"He hadn't eaten all day and had just received news from his employers that they were considering redundancies. It is particularly stressful for him because his wife is employed by the same company and they have two children of school age."

As well as imposing an 18-month driving ban, magistrates fined Rudnicki £300 and ordered him to pay a £15 victim surcharge and £60 costs.