Pictured: Bloodied and battered drink-driver caught FIVE times the limit

Farm worker Mantus Siskus, photographed just after his arrest, was driving a Ford Focus that crashed into a Vauxhall Corsa in Evans Street, Whitmore Reans.

Siskus was thrown from his car and hit the windscreen of the Corsa, and was found by police staggering at the roadside.

He was eventually stretchered away, while the two men in the Corsa were seriously hurt.

The Lithuanian gave an alcohol reading of 187mg in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.

Seventeen hours later, when he was released from hospital, he was still over the limit.

The 27-year-old, of Nine Elms Lane, Park Village, has now been jailed for 15 months after admitting dangerous driving, drink driving and driving without insurance or a valid licence before Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The 20-year-old Corsa passenger was taken to a specialist heart unit at a Liverpool hospital after suffering serious chest injuries. The driver, 20, was left with a a broken thigh.

A 44-year-old passenger in the Focus was left with minor cuts and grazes in the crash, which happened on December 8 at around 9.30pm. By 2am the following morning, he was still over the limit.

Insp Greg Jennings from West Midlands Police's traffic unit, said: "This was an extreme case. He must have consumed a huge amount of alcohol before getting behind the wheel. It's scary to imagine what condition he would have been in when trying to drive.

"Anyone who drives after drinking alcohol puts themselves and others at risk as their focus and reaction times become blurred. He's rightly been handed a jail term - his actions could easily have had fatal consequences."

"People need to understand the consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. It's far more than just the risk of imprisonment, heavy fines and driving bans: it ruins lives and can leave innocent people dead or seriously hurt.

"There are still too many people who think it's OK to drink and drive but the truth is the only safe level of drinking when you are planning to drive is zero, because any amount of alcohol will impair your ability to drive safely.

"The warning is particularly relevant this summer with late World Cup kick-offs and the risk of people driving the morning after drinking whilst still over the limit - or people driving home after watching games at pubs.

"The message is getting through: figures from the last drink drive campaign at Christmas showed a fall in the percentage of people testing positive, failing or refusing to provide breath samples compared to the previous season. It's vital we continue this reduction."

(Note: West Midlands Police initially stated the time of the crash was 9.30am. This was later corrected to 9.30pm and our story has been updated)