Drunk man drove to tell police someone allegedly tried to steal his car

But the problem for Singh was that he had a blood-alcohol reading almost four times the legal limit.

The 39-year-old was sentenced to 150 hours of community service when he faced Cessnock Local Court on Wednesday for what Magistrate Ian Rodgers described as an "incredibly high" level of intoxication while driving.

According to a statement of police facts tendered to the court, officers found Singh and his passenger parked in a no stopping zone outside Cessnock police station just before 3.30am after they heard the pair speaking in raised voices.

Singh told police he had not driven while intoxicated. He said that after someone tried to steal his car, he went to a pub where he met a man - whom he did not know - who drove him and his passenger to the police station and immediately left the area.

Police told Singh not to get back into the vehicle and returned inside to look at CCTV footage, which showed the Nulkaba man driving on the wrong side of the road approaching the station.

While police were inside, Singh got behind the steering wheel again, performed a u-turn and parked in a clearly marked 'police vehicles only' zone.

The statement of police facts said Singh's story changed several times while they spoke to him.

A breath test showed he had a blood alcohol reading of 0.188.

Magistrate Rodgers said on Wednesday that, even if Singh felt the need to report an incident to police, it "could never justify" posing "very significant danger to other road users".

"He's in the process now of placing his liberty in jeopardy by his actions," he said.