A Chippenham bricklayer was told that he was ‘lucky nobody died’ after causing a crash.
Drunk Daniel Hibbard, 36, ploughed into a parked car on Audley Road on 4 December last year.
He pleaded guilty to driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (14 February).
Prosecutor Kate Prince said the defendant, of Hill Rise, ploughed his Fiat Punto into a parked car at around 9.40pm – as he was driving home from the pub, where he’d been drinking.
She described the impact as “substantial” and said his car turned 90 degrees in the road.
Hibbard failed the roadside breath test before blowing a reading of 76 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Mark Glendenning, defending, said his client has been drinking whilst watching a World Cup game – consuming four or five pints over the course of the day.
He said that Hibbard will lose his job as a result of the incident as he needs to be able to drive his van for work as a bricklayer. Mr Glendenning added that the defendant offered a “significant apology” to police at the time of his arrest.
District Judge Joanna Dickens, ahead of sentencing, said: “Obviously this was serious because there was an accident.
“Ultimately you’re lucky nobody died or was seriously injured; you’re lucky you walked out of it without injuries.”
She handed Hibbard an 18-month disqualification and fined him £500. He must also pay a £200 surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.
