Boozy ex-serviceman crashed into parked car on Mansfield street
A former serviceman who was nearly three times the drink-drive limit when he crashed into a parked car in Mansfield was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates’ Court heard Police found Christopher Lee had 99 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – the legal limit is 35mcg – when they breathalysed him at around 10.20pm, on November 21.
Daniel Wilshaw, prosecuting, said damage was caused to a tyre on the stationary car.
The court heard he has no relevant previous convictions and he last appeared in court for theft in 2016.
Lee, aged 52, of Chelmorton Close, Mansfield Woodhouse, admitted drink-driving.
Vicky Clarson, mitigating, said he deserved full credit for his early guilty plea.
Lee had been drinking earlier in the day and was driving to a shop when the accident happened, she said.
He served in the armed forces before leaving in 2014, but has not worked since, as he is on medication for complex post-traumatic stress disorder.
Ms Clarson said Lee sometimes self-medicates with alcohol when he is struggling to sleep and was hospitalised for three weeks after a mental health crisis.
"This is a one-off situation that has arisen from his complex mental health difficulties," she said.
Lee was fined £200 and ordered to pay an £80 surcharge and £85 court costs.
He was banned from driving for 24 months, but told that a rehabilitation course will reduce the disqualification by 25 per cent if he completes it before April 24.