Police are warning of the dangers of over-indulging in alcohol after they came across a drunk man who had fallen asleep in the middle of the road in central Napier over the weekend.

The man was found lying near the intersection of Vautier Street and Dalton Street at 4.45am on Saturday.

This man was found lying in the middle of the road in Napier.

He was not injured and had not been run over, but was extremely drunk. When police woke him up, he did not realise he had fallen asleep.

Sergeant Andrew Graham says the man, in his mid-20s, told police he had spent all night drinking in town. He lived just a short distance from where he was found.

Police returned him home with a stern warning about the effects of excessive drinking and the potential harm he placed himself in.

Andrew says the man had put himself in extreme danger.

'This is a classic example of what can happen when you drink too much and lose control of your faculties,” he says.

'This man could easily have been run over and luckily there was not a lot of traffic in the area at the time.

'He was so drunk he had no idea what he was doing. He was very lucky that one of our patrol cars just happened to come across him.”

Police statistics also showed that drunk people were often victims of crimes such as robberies and assaults.

Many drunk people could not defend themselves or recognise a potentially dangerous situation.

'We say this time and time again and we will keep on saying it,” adds Andrew. 'If you drink to excess you will end up putting yourself (or others) in danger.

'It's all about personal responsibility and keeping yourself safe.”