An alleged drink-driver who was arrested on the motorway on New Year’s Day had been driving without front tyres.

The motorist was said to be nearly six times the limit when he was detained at the roadside on the M66 in Greater Manchester in the early hours of Wednesday.

North West Motorway police posted photos of the car’s bare wheels on Twitter, describing the incident as “unbelievable”. The force added: “You can see why it came to our notice.”

Male been detained for drink drive on the M66 - has blown 196 (YES THATS 196!!) at the roadside- as you can see from the photos you can see why it came to our notice @GMPtraffic #unbelievable #neednewwheels pic.twitter.com/xfL4vutEo0 — North West Motorway Police (@NWmwaypolice) January 1, 2020

Officers pulled over the driver at 1.50am when they saw his Renault Clio “struggling to drive” near Bury with no front tyres.

When they breathalysed him, they said he was found to have 196mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Greater Manchester traffic police said the discovery was “no surprise” given the car was not fit for the road.

The driver was charged with driving a motor vehicle on a road while over the prescribed limit for alcohol, contrary to section 5 of the Road Traffic Act, and will appear in court later this month.

The M66 between Lancashire and Greater Manchester links the M60 Manchester outer ring road to the A56.

Data released by the Department for Transport (DfT) last year showed the number of people killed in drink-drive crashes on Britain’s roads had reached an eight-year high.

Wednesday saw a spate of serious collisions, including the death of a 37-year-old motorist who died just minutes into the new year after his car crashed into a tree in the Great Barr area of Birmingham.

Three motorists were also killed in Greater Manchester through Tuesday night into New Year’s Day, including taxi driver Saleem Pacha, 59.

• This article was amended on 3 January 2020 because an earlier version said that the detained driver was alleged to be six times over the drink-drive limit. This has been changed to six times the limit.