Drink driver’s car ended up in field

A Perth man lost control of his car on a country road, careered through a hedge and ended up in a field.

And when 40-year-old James Hughes was traced more than an hour later, he was “smelling strongly of alcohol” - and was found to have been more than four times over the drink/drive limit.

The incident took place more than a year ago.

But the long arm of the law finally caught up with him at Perth Sheriff Court when he was given a four-year driving ban.

He also narrowly escaped a jail sentence and instead was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work within the next six months.

In addition, he will be supervised for 12 months and will have to undertake alcohol counselling.

The accused, of Double Dykes Caravan Park, Ruthvenfield Road, has a previous conviction for drink/ driving.

He admitted driving with 91 microgrammes of alcohol - the maximum allowed is 22 - on the Madderty-Tibbermore road on June 11, 2016.

He also had no insurance for the vehicle.

A not guilty plea was accepted to a third charge of driving while holding an unexpired provisional licence.

He was to have been sentenced on July 13 last year after a Community Justice Social Work report and a Restriction of Liberty Order assessment had been completed.

But he failed to turn up and it emerged he had been “hiding in plain sight effectively”.

Depute fiscal Rebecca Kynaston said that the accident took place about 8.25pm.

There were passengers in the vehicle which was said to have been “extensively damaged”.

A passer-by contacted the police and although Hughes had initially left the scene, he was traced at 9.30pm.

He admitted being the driver of the car and was taken into custody.

The road surface had recently been relaid with loose chippings on top and there was an advisory 20mph speed limit in operation at the time.

Lawyer Paul Ralph told the court that the car, which his client had recently bought for a few hundred pounds, was a “write off.”

Hughes, who had “no intention” of re-applying for his licence, was suitable for supervision and unpaid work.

Branding the accused’s actions as “foolhardy,” Sheriff William Wood pointed out that his inability to drive safely was because of his intoxicated state.

“I have given serious consideration whether I ought to jail you, given the very high reading.”

There was a “direct alternative” to a jail sentence, however, and he was willing to impose that.

The lengthy ban was backdated to June 13 last year when an interim disqualification was imposed after Hughes first appeared from custody.