A CREWKERNE man found slumped over the wheel of his car in the car park of an Ilminster hotel with an empty bottle of vodka beside him claimed he had drunk the alcohol after driving to the location.

When police were called to the scene by a member of the public shortly before 6am, concerned he was a drink driver, they also discovered that Johnathan Salisbury Payne was not insured for the vehicle.

Payne, 62, of Ashlands Meadow, pleaded not guilty to being in charge of a Jaguar vehicle at The Shrubbery Hotel in Station Road, Ilminster, on July 28.

However he admitted driving the car at Ilminster without insurance when he appeared before Somerset Magistrates at Yeovil.

Prosecutor Christine Hart said the defendant told police he had drunk the bottle of vodka after arriving at the scene and had not intended to drive home until after lunchtime when the alcohol had gone out of his system.

The case was adjourned until December 6 when Payne must return to the court for a trial to take place, and until then he was given unconditional bail.