A bank fraud investigator and former special constable was so drunk when he went to buy fish and chips that staff called the police, magistrates heard.

Shakeel Pitteea, 27, was three-and-a-half times over the limit when he drove to and from the Kingfisher takeaway on the Kildwick roundabout at 9pm on September 14, the court heard.

Officers turned up at his home in Main Street, Cross Hills, a short time later, found him inside and an unopened and still hot bag of fish and chips.

He was found to have 121 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35.

Pitteea, who admitted drink-driving, was told he could have been sent to prison, but instead was given a 12-month community order with supervision and ordered to carry out 150 hours’ unpaid work. He was also banned from driving for 30 months.

The court heard that Pitteea developed a drink problem two years ago when he was under threat of redundancy. He was a fraud investigator with the Yorkshire Bank and as a special constable until December last year, he had received the Queen’s Jubilee medal.

In mitigation, Paul Milner said Pitteea, who had been married for two weeks, had not intended to drive, but that his normal rational thought processes had been muddled by drink. Pitteea was seeking help by attending Keighley-based alcohol group Project 6.