A DRUNK caused thousands of pounds of damage after stealing a double-decker bus and driving it around the Canterbury ring road and on to the M2. Lee Silvester, 26, was nearly three times over the limit when he climbed into the cab of the vehicle which had been left unattended at the city's bus station.

He then embarked on a 20-mile journey, crashing into a lorry and two cars, before eventually abandoning the Stagecoach bus at the Farthing Corner Medway Services on the M2 at Rainham. When he appeared before Canterbury magistrates, Silvester, who has not passed a driving test, admitted drink driving, taking the bus without consent and having no licence or insurance.

He was remanded him in custody for pre-sentence reports but warned that he faced a prison sentence and could be committed to the crown court if the magistrates powers were insufficient to deal with him.

At the time of the offence, Silvester, from Sheffield, had been staying at the night shelter at the Canterbury Open Centre. Jackie Morey, prosecuting, said: "It seems he took the bus with the intention of getting back to his family home in Sheffield but left a trail of devastation.

"The vehicle, which was the Faversham service bus, had been left unattended by the driver and wasn't immobilised."

Silvester, she said, was able to get in and simply drive off in it. He collided heavily in Lower Bridge Street with a lorry whose driver called the police, and two other stationary cars. By co-incidence the lorry driver was heading for the Medway Services and saw the abandoned bus when he arrived. He then saw the defendant and was able to identify him to police."

She said an alcohol test revealed that Silvester had 113 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

The damage to the vehicles is thought to run into thousands of pounds. Leanne James, for Silvester, said he had originally got into the empty bus to look for money or cigarettes. She added: "He has no previous convictions and this episode was completely out of character. I believe he may have suffered from some sort of mental breakdown.

It is clear he was very drunk and that in hindsight he realises it was an incredibly dangerous and foolish thing to do.

"Before this, he was a normal, perfectly law-abiding person. But he began behaving bizarrely after leaving home two months ago. Instead of going to work, unknown to his family he hitched a lift to Portsmouth and then got a crossing to France where he slept rough.

"He got back home with the help of the British Consulate and ended up at the Canterbury night shelter where he began drinking heavily. Clearly something is not right and perhaps we need a psychiatrist's report."