South Shields drunk driver caught after crashing into a tree outside a policeman’s house

Barry Wilson, 57, careered off King George Road, South Shields, alerting the officer who was sitting at home on the evening of Tuesday, May 20.

He found Wilson, of Marsden Lane, Horsley Hill, unsteady on his feet and showing glazed eyes – and the front of his MG motor badly damaged.

Prosecutor Emily Sanderson said the lawman contacted colleagues who arrived to breath test the drunk care worker.

The reading showed Wilson was over three times the legal alcohol level, magistrates in South Tyneside were told.

He is now starting a two-year roads’ ban after pleading guilty to driving with excess alcohol, his first criminal conviction.

Ms Sanderson said: “The officer states that he was off duty and at home at 9pm when he heard a loud bang outside.

“He saw that a motor vehicle was parked diagonally across the road. He put on his shoes and walked towards the car.

“The vehicle was heavily damaged, it had damage to the front and the rear towards the driver’s side.

“There was a lot of debris on the road. The driver had collided with a tree. The driver said that he was on a call out to a home care.

“The officer noticed that the driver was unsteady on his feet and his eyes were glazed.

“Other officers came, and the driver failed a roadside breath test.

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“He has no previous convictions and made full admissions in interview. The matter is aggravated by there being a collision.”

Wilson gave a reading for alcohol in breath of 107mcg. The legal limit is 35mcg.

Ben Hurst, defending, said: “He works in the community as a caregiver. He will keep that job.

“This was a one-off blip. He tells me that when he does drink socially, he drinks non-alcoholic drinks.

“He had been to the pub and had two large whiskies. It was, in his own words, ‘the biggest mistake of my life’.”

Magistrates also fined Wilson £500 and ordered him to pay a £200 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

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