Lord George Worsley was arrested by police in Grimsby after crashing his car into a lamppost while three times over the drink-drive limit and with his face smeared in boot polish, a court has heard.
Prosecutor John Harris told Grimsby Magistrates' Court:
Just before 2:30am on 25 April, a police car which was travelling towards Lockhill roundabout noticed a dark-coloured vehicle approximately 100 metres in front. It was travelling with no lights and a large piece of debris came away from the car, which appeared to be the fragments of a bumper or tyre.
The officer then noticed one of the tyres was fully deflated and radioed the control room. He noticed the car was swerving from side to side and that there was only one person in the car. Further fragments fell off the vehicle.
The vehicle collided with a lamppost near Riby Square which caused it to stop. The officer said the driver looked shocked and stunned and his face appeared to be covered in a black substance, which looked like boot polish.
The court heard that Worsley was almost three times over the drink-drive limit.
In mitigation, Worsley's defence lawyer, David Ewings, tried to show the aristocrat's good character, mentioning his charity work in Kenya and Singapore and flagging up the fact that he was setting up his own fashion newspaper in London, the Grimsby Telegraph reported.
"My client concedes that this was a true moment of madness and it was simply out of character for this young man," Ewings said.
"He is contrite, remorseful and exceptionally embarrassed about what has happened. He demonstrated all the behaviour of a good and upstanding citizen and immediately admitted that he had been drinking."
Worsley pleaded guilty to drink-driving, as well as driving without a licence and insurance, The Times reported.
He was handed a 12-month community order and disqualified from driving for 28 months.
He was also ordered to pay court costs.