A police inspector who coordinated a pioneering Pubwatch scheme to stamp out drunken behaviour was yesterday banned for 18 months and fined more than £1,000 for crashing his car while over the drink-drive limit.

South Tyneside Magistrates Court heard that after the crash, Philip Toulson went back to the same pub to carry on drinking.

Toulson, 40, now faces disciplinary action by Northumbria Police.

At an earlier hearing, he pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol, careless driving, failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident.

The case was adjourned until yesterday because Toulson disputed a breath test reading which showed he was more than three times over the legal limit. He claimed he drank after the accident last November at Station Road, East Boldon, South Tyneside, and at the time of the crash his alcohol level would have been much lower.

The Crown Prosecution Service accepted that the initial reading would not have been more than 53 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath at the time of the crash. The legal limit is 35mg.

Geoffrey Forrester, defending, told the court that Toulson had been suffering from domestic and professional problems at the time of the incident and had been under enormous pressure.

Toulson, of Cleadon Village, South Tyneside, was banned from driving for 18 months, fined £500 for driving with excess alcohol, £225 for each offence of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident, £90 for careless driving and ordered to pay £55 costs.

Toulson refused to comment after the case.

After the hearing a Northumbria Police spokesman said: "Any police officer convicted of a criminal offence will be subject to disciplinary action.