A drunken dad-of-three almost five times over the drink-drive limit didn't realise he was ferrying his children around in a car that had caught fire.

A court heard that Adam Whitehead, 36, was oblivious to the billows of smoke coming from his green Fiat and other motorists had to pull his three young children out of the car to safety - before he then bizarrely drove on leaving his kids at the side of the road.

He was spared jail by magistrates on Monday despite the incident on the morning of Saturday June 19 when he drove around a mile with the children in the car after downing a bottle of vodka the night before.

Whitehead was banned from driving for three years and told he must complete an alcohol treatment programme. He was also ordered to pay 85 pounds in court costs and told to do 60 hours of unpaid work.

Neil Murphy, mitigating, said Whitehead had been going through a difficult period and was depressed.