A DRINK driver told police he would go on a shooting rampage similar to the murders committed by taxi driver Derrick Bird in Cumbria, a court heard last week.

Former manager Keith Eden told officers he had a gun licence and would kill himself upon his release.

Angela Furniss, for the Crown Prosecution Service, told Plymouth magistrates: 'He said he would commit suicide but not before taking a few people with him, like that bloke in Cumbria.'

The threat came only days after Bird shot 12 people dead and injured 11 others in west Cumbria.

The court heard that police were forced to search the 51-year-old's Tavistock home to look for a weapon.

Mrs Furniss added that none was found and it was discovered his firearms licence had been revoked in 2001.

Eden, of Uplands, admitted drink-driving and failing to stop when directed by a police officer on June 7. He was found to have 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mrs Furniss said a police patrol car noticed a Vauxhall Vectra manoeuvring out of a parking space at the junction of Callington Road and Plymouth Road in the early hours.

Officers saw Eden drive off with no seatbelt on at between 50mph and 60mph, where the speed limit was 30mph.

She added that the Vectra turned right into Uplands and clipped a parked Mazda.

The court heard that the police officers switched on their vehicle's blue light but the Vectra failed to stop immediately. Mrs Furniss said Eden pulled over several hundred metres down the road.

She added that Eden was being taken to Launceston police station in the patrol car when he made a string of comments, including those about Bird.

Eden, representing himself, apologised for his driving and what he said: "I was very angry with myself. I made some totally stupid flippant comments, which were totally out of context from my own personal point of view."

Eden said he had decided on the spur of the moment to drive a short distance home after a night out with friends in Tavistock. He added that he had drunk three pints of lager.

He said he had not been aware he was speeding and continued driving a short distance after the accident because he did not want to stop on a hill where he might have trouble starting his own damaged car.

Magistrates banned him from driving for 16 months, fined him £100 and ordered that he pay £15 costs.