A TIPSY driver drove off a bridge into a river before fleeing the scene and catching a train home.

A court heard Dany Warren was later arrested by police at his home in Crediton, where he was drinking alcohol.

Exeter Magistrates Court heard that the 31 year-old's car was found in the River Taw having gone off the bridge at Umberleigh, North Devon, on Bonfire Night.

Prosecutor Lyndsey Baker said Warren was aggressive to police and repeatedly refused to take a breath test later at his home and was arrested.

Warren's lawyer Rob Jacobs said he was only driving his Ford Fiesta at 20mph along the tight road and narrow bridge on a stormy night when he crashed into the bridge and ended up in the river.

He admitted he had drunk some alcohol but said that had not impaired his driving and “it was an accident”.

Warren, of Mill Street, Crediton, admitted failing to provide a sample and was banned from driving for 17 months, fined £319 and given a six-month community order.

The JPs said: "You went off a bridge and into a river."