A driver had six pints with pals to celebrate Christmas Eve before crashing into a lamppost.
Adam Marshall was more than three times over the limit when he got behind the wheel of his Seat Ibiza in Wallsend on December 24 last year.
A court heard that officers arrived on West Street and found the 28-year-old sitting in his vehicle with the keys in the ignition.
Go here for the latest reports and live updates from North East courts
They saw it was clear Marshall had crashed the car and he was asked to do a breath test, which he failed.
Now, Marshall, of Dereham Way, in New York, has been banned from the roads for 25 months after he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
Rob Lawson, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, said officers arrived at the scene on the evening of December 24.
He added: "The defendant is in the car with the keys in the ignition. It's clear there has been some sort of collision but we don't know exactly what .
"The defendant admits in interview that he was driving the vehicle. He said he had six pints and drove home and went too fast around a corner."
The court heard that Marshall, who has no past convictions, gave a reading of 106mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is just 35.
Stuart Athey, defending, said Marshall hadn't intended to drive after meeting pals in Wallsend.
The solicitor continued: "His intention was to get a taxi back but, unfortunately, after five more pints after his first, he made the very foolish decision to get in his car to drive back.
"He fully accepts the foolhardiness of that decision. He tells me that the collision, he thinks, was with a lamppost."
As well as being banned from the roads, Marshall was also give a 12-month community order, with 80 hours of unpaid work, and must pay £85 costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
District Judge Natalie Wortley said: "You pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to driving with excess alcohol.
"That reading of 106 was high and, of course, it's more serious because you crashed your vehicle and apparently caused some damage but the extent of that damage is unclear."
