Drink-driver could not explain why he got in his car before crashing it near Chester

Aaron Heath, 24, who had been living in Pine Grove, Llay, Wrexham but was currently staying in Hope Cottages, Ellesmere Port, drove his Ford Focus into trees off Chester Road, Aldford, and was found to be over three times the drink-drive limit.

Heath pleaded guilty at Chester Magistrates Court on Friday, December 6 to drink-driving and he was handed a 25-month driving ban.

Prosecuting, Alison Warburton said it was 12.25am on November 16 when police were alerted to a crash on the A41 and the driver was suspected as being drunk.

Heath was the driver and, while uninjured, he was unsteady on his feet.

The Ford Focus had left the road and hit trees, while the airbags had gone off on his car and windscreen was smashed.

He gave a reading of 106 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35.

In police interview, he could not explain why he had got in the car, as his home was across the road from the pub where he had been drinking.

A probation report heard Heath had had seven pints and was "six out of 102 on the drunkenness scale.

Heath found it "particularly distressing" that he did not have an idea where he was going or why he had got in the car.

He had been treated for anxiety, had expressed genuine remorse, and had sold the car for parts following the incident.

Defending, Richard Sibeon said this case had "absolutely been a wake-up call" for Heath, who had not drunk any alcohol since and was open about the offence with his North Wales employer, which had provided a "glowing" character reference.

Heath was handed a 12-month community order, to feature 100 hours unpaid work.

The 25-month drink-driving ban could be reduced by a quarter if Heath successfully completed a drink-drive rehabilitation course.

He must pay a £90 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

Chair of magistrates Andrew Pope told him: "You have made a stupid mistake. We don't want to see you back in court."