A report that a motorist was driving to Portreath to jump off a cliff sent police officers searching for him.

They found Samuel Butcher, 24, of Pennance Parc, Lanner, in his car at Lighthouse Hill, Portreath, clearly in drink, and he later tested at 100 mcg of alcohol, nearly three times the limit in breath.

Butcher, who pleaded guilty at Truro Magistrates’ Court to drink driving on December 11, told the magistrates although he had said he was going to jump, he did not really intend to do it. “I was drink driving. I regret what I did”, he said, adding that he did not need help with any drink problem.

His case was adjourned to January 28 for an alcohol treatment assessment.