Police were led to Peter Johnson's poor driving by a series of strong clues, including skid marks on the road, straight to his home.

After smashing through a fence into a suburban garden in his Ford Falcon, Johnson was then seen reversing out quickly and driving off erratically, on the wrong side of the road.

Later that night, on March 31 this year, the 47-year-old was seen doing a series of skids and donuts in the middle of an intersection in Stoke - a suburb of Nelson, as his vehicle let off a large plume of smoke.

In the Nelson District Court today, where Johnson appeared on his 12th drink-drive charge, police prosecution said they were able to follow a "large trail of skid marks" to his address, and on arrival noticed his vehicle was giving off a "strong smell of burning rubber".

He also appeared on charges of driving dangerously and operating a motor vehicle with sustained loss of traction; all of which he admitted.

Breath testing procedures revealed he had been driving while more than four times the legal limit, with 1145 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath. The legal limit is 250mg.

His lawyer Wayne Jones said while it was Johnson's 12th excess breath alcohol charge, he had not been before the court in six or seven years, and neither had he drunk alcohol in the past nine years.

"He's not an alcoholic. He hasn't drunk in several years. He was given a bottle of whisky for his birthday and just went crazy," Jones told Judge Jo Rielly as to why a drug and alcohol report was possibly not necessary.

Judge Rielly noted Johnson's past recent record suggested he had more than likely drunk alcohol within the past nine years.

She remanded Johnson on bail for sentencing on June 23, for a pre sentence report and to assess electronic monitoring options.