A MOTORIST has been charged with drink-driving after a car ended up on its roof in a drive-thru restaurant

Officers were called at 3.10am on Saturday morning to the McDonald’s store near Bishop Auckland.

Police said the Vauxhall Astra left the main road and flipped over a fence before landing in the drive-thru on Abraham Industrial Estate, in St Helen Auckland.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said: “A gas main was damaged by the car during the incident, which resulted in the restaurant being evacuated.”

Lee Flanagan, 34, of Grey Street, Bishop Auckland, has been arrested and charged with drink-driving.

He was released on bail to appear at Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, December 13.

The restaurant was closed until early on Saturday afternoon. A McDonald’s spokesperson said: “We can confirm that an incident took place in the early hours of Saturday morning.

“The store reopened at 1.30pm on Saturday and have traded as normal since then.”