A drink-driver told police they could be "out catching drug dealers" instead of arresting him for crashing his BMW in Ipswich while over the limit.

Domantas Saltmiris was said to have shown "no remorse" upon his arrest on the morning of the crash.

The collision happened in the early hours of Sunday, September 13 last year

Saltmiris left two other vehicles damaged in Bramford Lane before his black BMW 3 Series flipped on its side in Bramford Road.

The 30-year-old appeared at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to admit driving with 137 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood – the legal limit being 80mg.

Prosecutor Pretty Barber said police were called to the scene outside Rendlesham Court – less than a mile from Saltmiris' Bramford Road home – at 12.45am.

She said officers immediately smelled alcohol on the driver and requested a roadside breath test, which returned a reading of 69 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit being 35mcg.

On the way to hospital for a check-up, Saltmiris told police he was guilty of drink-driving and that he just wanted to retrieve his passport from the crashed car.

Miss Barber said Saltmiris showed no remorse, laughed several times and asked: "Why are you with me when you could be catching drug dealers?"

Representing himself in court, Saltmiris told magistrates he had driven home after celebrating the engagement of two friends at Isaacs on the Quay.

"It was a stupid thing to do, I guess," he said.

"I had work at 5am and decided to drive home. It was a bad decision."

Saltmiris said he lost his job driving a truck on a farm as a result of the offence.

"I'm just glad no one else was hurt," he added.

"I'm sorry. It was just foolish."

Magistrates banned Saltmiris from driving for 16 months and imposed a fine of £450.