A DRINK-DRIVER showed off his driving skills by performing handbrake turns and wheel spins at 3.30am, York Crown Court heard.

Only after Aigars Danilans had done several "doughnuts" and screeched his car round a few times did he find out that he was in a police station car park.

Graham O'Sullivan, prosecuting, said a police sergeant had watched all of the 21-year-old's antics from his own car and when the builder sped towards him put on his blue lights and with help from a second sergeant boxed him in.

Danilans was more than twice the drink drive limit and didn't have insurance for his driving.

The offences were committed at Fulford Road Police Station during the annual police Christmas anti-drink driving campaign.

Latvian speaking Danilans, of Sand Lane, Wilberfoss near Pocklington, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, drink driving and driving without insurance.

Recorder Tahir Khan QC told him: "I accept this was you just showing off and behaving in a very immature way but what you did was serious, justifying the passing of a custodial sentence."

He gave him a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months on condition he does 140 hours' unpaid work, banned him from driving for 22 months and ordered him to take an extended driving test before driving alone again.

He also ordered him to pay the prosecution costs of £340 and a £115 statutory surcharge.

"I am very sorry," Danilans, who represented himself, said as sentence was passed. He followed proceedings with help from a Latvian translator.

Mr O'Sullivan said Danilans was driving a blue Rover at 3.30am on December 18 that belonged to his mother and for which he was not insured.

He spoke to a couple of men by the side of the road outside the car park, and as the sergeant in a police car waited at a give way sign accelerated into the car park, performed a series of manoeuvres that finished with him stopping immediately behind the police car.

The police then intervened. A breath test gave a reading of 82 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Danilans told police he had had four cans of beer and didn't know York well.