A driver was found slumped at the wheel of his car in Suffolk after drinking at a party until 7am, a court has heard.

A woman saw Gary Douglas, 41, asleep in his Ford Mondeo around midday on September 17 in Lower Street, Sproughton, near Ipswich.

The woman noticed the car was parked in an unsafe position on the street and described Douglas as being "slumped forward in the driver's seat", Pretty Barber, prosecuting, told Suffolk Magistrates' Court.

The woman knocked on the window of the car to ask if Douglas was okay and after he told her he was, she suggested he move his car around the corner.

He was then seen starting the car and driving into Church Lane, where he parked.

The police were called and arriving officers immediately noticed Douglas was under the influence of alcohol, the court heard.

The officers struggled to rouse him, and his speech was slurred, Ms Barber said.

Douglas failed a roadside breath test and in custody blew 91 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - more than two-and-a-half times the legal limit of 35mcg in 100ml of breath.

Douglas, of Coram Green, Hutton, near Brentwood, Essex, previously pleaded guilty to drink driving on October 15.

Natasha Nair, mitigating, said Douglas, a father-of-four, admitted he had been drinking until 7am on the day he was arrested.

She said Douglas' tyre had blown and he was forced to get a lift from a friend to the party.

On arrival back at his car, he had called the RAC and was waiting for them when the incident took place.

But he admitted driving the car around the corner and pleaded guilty on that basis, Ms Nair said.

Douglas has a long-standing issue with alcohol and is seeking help from the Open Road charity in Basildon and his GP, Ms Nair told the court.

She added that Douglas previously worked in the City but had been employed as a groundworker for the past 15 years.

Magistrates adjourned sentence to December 20 at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court to allow the Probation Service to assess Douglas' suitability for an alcohol rehabilitation requirement.

He has been handed an interim driving ban ahead of his sentence.