A young Monaco resident was unable to change the wheel on his Audi after hitting the pavement outside the Monte-Carlo Bay in the early hours shortly before last Christmas, as the damage was too serious, Monaco’s Criminal Court was told.

The 22 year-old Italian national was spotted sitting in the stationary vehicle by a passing police patrol two hours and twenty minutes after the incident, local French-language daily Monaco Matin reported.

The defendant told the court that he felt able to drive as he had consumed only two gins and tonic at Twiga and had wanted to take his friends home in the car lent to him by his father. His blood alcohol reading alcohol was still at 0.40 mg/l almost three hours after the accident, the court heard.

The prosecution demanded a one-month suspended jail sentence for the first offender, but the court’s decision was a total fine of 545 euros and a three-month suspension of his driving licence.