A man who crashed his car after drink-driving was caught at the wheel weeks later after taking drugs.

The offences were committed by James Birmingham during a ‘crazy period’ in his life.

At Kirklees Magistrates’ Court he pleaded guilty to driving while over the prescribed limit, failing to stop after a road accident and driving while unfit through drugs.

Magistrates were told that Birmingham, of Boathouse Lane in Mirfield, first caught the attention of police when he was involved in a smash on August 31.

His Peugeot 206 collided with a speed camera on Wakefield Road at the junction with Roundwood Avenue in Waterloo.

Birmingham, 25, left the scene but was later spotted by police having caught a taxi.

As he had been involved in an accident he was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

There a blood sample was taken which revealed that he had 128 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood.

The legal limit is 80 milligrammes.

The second incident that Birmingham was involved with happened on October 18.

Police were called to West Royd Avenue in Mirfield to deal with an incident and Birmingham was seen returning to a vehicle parked nearby.

He claimed that the car was not his but had the keys in his trouser pocket.

Birmingham was behaving erratically and was taken to hospital for an assessment.

He was well over the drink-drive limit but a doctor suspected he was impaired in another way.

Prosecutor Alex Bozman said: “A blood sample showed he had cocaine and diazepam in his system.

“He thought he was fit to drive and said he’d taken cocaine a few days prior to the incident.”

The court heard that the bricklayer had no previous convictions.

His solicitor said that he went through a crazy six-week period and the incidents were entirely out of character.

Magistrates banned him from driving for 24 months.

He must also pay £400 fine as well as £85 costs and £40 victim surcharge.