A DRUNK driver has been banned from the roads for two years after driving home from the pub while three times over the limit.
Police in Hebburn spotted Reece Davidson’s car parked halfway onto a grass verge in Campbell Park Road and decided to check to see if there was a problem.
When they got to the Vauxhall Astra, they noticed the tyres on the passenger side were both flat.
The 22-year-old then got out of the car and said he had a couple of pints, but felt fine to drive.
The officers thought Davidson, of Cherry Tree Walk, Hebburn, was drunk and arrested him after he failed a breath test. He pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court yesterday.
Stan Sudworth, prosecuting, said: “It was 10.40pm on Friday, February 15, when officers saw the car.
“Davidson got out and appeared drunk. He said he was OK and had pulled up after a couple of pints.”
He had 107mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath, the limit being 35mg.
Mr Sudworth added: “The front tyre of the passenger side was flat and off the wheel rim. The back tyre was flat.”
Ian Cruickshank, defending, said: “He has never been in trouble with the law before. He had been in the pub with his gran and other family.
“Their house was on the way back to his own and, for some reason he can’t explain, once he got there, he decided to get in the car.
“There must have been some nails on the road because as he pulled away he realised the tyres had burst.”
The court heard Davidson had only driven 50 yards. Magistrates fined him £830, ordered him to pay an £83 victim surcharge and £85 costs.
Twitter: @ShieldsGazCrime