http://www.expressandstar.com/artman/publish/article_32856.shtml
Ban ordered for smash driver May 24, 2003, 10:39:00
A freelance photographer who crashed while over the drink-drive alcohol limit was banned from driving.
Police called to an accident in Station Road, Norton Bridge, near Stone, found a Renault Megane embedded in a hedge side-on to the road.
Miss Sara Beddow, prosecuting, said a man standing nearby, Christian Wyatt, initially denied being the driver and said his brother had been behind the wheel.
Wyatt was unsteady on his feet and smelled strongly of liquor. Police arrested him after he failed a roadside test, Mid Staffordshire magistrates court heard.
He then told officers: "I take full responsibility for the accident."
Miss Beddow said Wyatt made no attempt to stop at a junction and gone across two carriageways of a major road before colliding with a hedge.
A blood test showed he had 111 miligrams of alcohol in 100 mililitres of blood, the limit being 80.
Wyatt, aged 22, of Meadow View, Shallowford, near Stafford, was yesterday banned from driving for a year and fined a total of £350 with £55 costs after admitting driving with excess alcohol and careless driving.
Mr Chris Clark, defending, said Wyatt panicked and gave his brother's details. "He then owned up immediately and co-operated entirely."
There was a problem with the Intoximeter procedure at the police station and Wyatt was asked to give a blood sample instead.
"It wasn't an easy decision for him to make because he is a Jehovah's Witness."