him walking along the North Shore soaking wet, with his Nissan station wagon under 12 feet of ocean.

When approached by officers he confessed: "I'm drunk'', Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

O'Connor, 55, of Sofar Lane, St. David's, admitted driving with excess alcohol on May 30 and was disqualified for a year, with a $350 fine.

Insp. Peter Duffy, prosecuting, said Police were called to where a car had plunged into the sea off Penhurst Park, Smith's, at around 3 a.m. Police divers searched the car and found it was empty, with the driver's door open.

Minutes later O'Connor was seen walking nearby.

"You can imagine how embarrassed and remorseful he is,'' Miss Keren Lomas, defending, told the court.