A registered blind man has pleaded guilty to dangerous driving after making an extraordinary 150-mile journey along the motorway while over the legal alcohol limit, telling officers he managed to stay on course by following the tail lights of heavy goods vehicles.

Anthony Hall, 49, appeared before Carlisle Magistrates' Court after admitting dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol, driving without a licence or insurance, and taking his partner's vehicle without her consent.

The court heard that Hall, from Huddersfield, drove his partner's Vauxhall Meriva from West Yorkshire towards Cumbria during the night on 29 June, despite being registered blind and legally prohibited from driving.

According to the prosecution, Hall had lost his sight around two years ago and did not hold a driving licence. Despite this, he travelled for more than two hours before police eventually located the vehicle on the M6 near Carlisle after it had been reported missing.

Officers became concerned after seeing the car drift towards the motorway's hard shoulder while moving between lane one and lane two. The vehicle was stopped before police spoke with Hall, who admitted he had been drinking wine before getting behind the wheel.

When questioned about how he had managed to complete such a lengthy motorway journey despite being blind, Hall told officers that he had followed the rear lights of lorries travelling ahead of him.

A breath test later showed Hall had provided a reading of 46 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, above the legal limit of 35 micrograms.

Prosecutor Suresh Basra described the incident as a prolonged period of dangerous driving which placed other road users at significant risk. The court was told it was fortunate that no collision, injuries or damage had occurred during the journey, despite the obvious dangers posed by the circumstances.

The prosecution also acknowledged that Hall had no previous convictions and had previously been regarded as a man of good character, but argued that his decision to drive while blind, uninsured, unlicensed and over the alcohol limit represented an exceptionally serious disregard for public safety.

Hall's defence requested that magistrates obtain a pre-sentence report to better understand his personal circumstances and background before deciding on an appropriate punishment.

Magistrates agreed to adjourn sentencing until 8 September while the report is prepared. In the meantime, Hall has been made subject to an interim driving disqualification.

The case has prompted widespread reaction online, with many expressing disbelief at the circumstances surrounding the journey and questioning how it was possible for the trip to continue for so long without ending in tragedy. One person wrote:

"What is actually wrong with people.."

Another said:

"150 miles and over the limit? I wonder what state he was in when he started driving!"

The incident has once again drawn attention to the dangers of drink driving, with road safety organisations and police forces continuing to warn that alcohol can significantly impair judgement, reaction times and decision making, increasing the likelihood of serious or fatal collisions.

Although no one was injured during Hall's journey, prosecutors told the court that the outcome could easily have been far more devastating, making the fact that nobody was harmed nothing short of remarkable.