A MAN claimed an epileptic fit caused a crash which left his vehicle spinning on its roof -- even though he had no history of epilepsy.

Brian Hall was two-and-a-half times the legal drink driving limit when his car smashed into a central island in Wigan Road, Bolton.

The impact tipped the car on to its side and then on to its roof and, according to witnesses, was left spinning upside down.

A passenger in the car escaped unscathed but, despite Hall suffering ankle and head injuries, he managed to run off.

When police arrested him at home later he said he had suffered an epileptic fit at the wheel and then had drunk three litres of strong cider when he got home.

Hall, aged 41, of Broadwalk, Westhoughton, appeared at Bolton Crown Court to appeal against his sentence.

Magistrates had jailed him for four months and banned him from driving for five years. The appeal was dismissed but the driving ban was reduced to three years.

Prosecutor Richard Heap said the accident happened in Wigan Road in Bolton on May 14 last year.

The road was wet and Hall's car hit the central island, overturned and spun several times on its roof.

The court heard that Hall, an HGV driver until his injuries forced him to give up work, had shown deep remorse over the incident.