A DRUNKEN biker has been banned from Plymouth's roads after crashing into a parked car while carrying a blade and a knuckleduster.

Dad-of-two Mark Grierson told police he had quaffed five pints of cider during a night out with his girlfriend.

But, while riding her home on his Kawasaki, the 31-year-old lost control and collided with a parked car, causing both him and his girlfriend to fall off.

Residents in Valletort Place, Stonehouse, "heard a bang" and saw a man sprawled on the floor after the bike hit a car while trying to park in the early hours, the court was told.

Police, called to the scene by paramedics, found Grierson to be in possession of both a lock-knife and a knuckleduster.

He yesterday pleaded guilty to possessing an offensive weapon, possessing a bladed article, drink-driving and driving without insurance.

It is the second time Grierson has been banned, after being arrested twice in the same month in 2006 for drink-driving, city magistrates heard.

The court was told how Grierson had been to the Voodoo Lounge bar in Drake Circus with his girlfriend until the early hours of January 31.

Prosecutor Gareth Warden said residents in Valletort Place called emergency services after hearing the crash and seeing a man who appeared to be in drink pushing a vehicle from the scene.

When officers arrived they spotted Grierson in a nearby field, watching the police and with a cut on the left side of his nose, the court heard.

They found a lock-knife in Grierson's jacket, which he said he used for work as a labourer, and a knuckleduster he said he had pocketed from a group of unknown men he had met in the pub.

His solicitor ,Bill LaHive, said Grierson's girlfriend had an illness "like physical Tourette's", and a "forceful twitch" had triggered the crash. He had pleaded guilty at the earlier opportunity and was due to start a new contract, Mr LaHive added.

Grierson, of Ringmore Way, West Park, was banned from driving for three years and sentenced to 150 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month community order. No separate penalty was imposed for driving without insurance.