Ananova:

A bishop says he has no memory of an alleged drunken incident in which he clambered into a stranger's car.

The Rt Rev Tom Butler, 66, the Bishop of Southwark, threw children's toys from the parked Mercedes before being pulled out, falling over and cracking open his head.

Asked what he was doing, it's claimed he replied: "I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do."

He then 'staggered' off into the night leaving his cross, personal organiser and Home Office correspondence in the car.

At first the bishop claimed he'd been mugged as he made his way back from an embassy function in central London to his home in Streatham.

But his spokesman later said: "He'd clearly had a glass of wine but does not recall being drunk as a skunk.

"He finds it incredible to believe he was in a different part of town in a car and left belongings there. But he doesn't recall."

Mercedes owner Nicola Sumpter, 33, said the first she knew of the incident was when her car alarm went off.

She said: "My boyfriend and his pal raced outside and were stunned to see a grey-haired man in the back seat. He was throwing my one-year-old son's toys everywhere.

"He wouldn't get out so they pulled him away. He couldn't stand up straight and fell over, bashing his head. Asked what he was doing, the man said: 'I'm the Bishop of Southwark. It's what I do'. He then staggered off."