Ollerton man self-medicated with brandy before crashing into hedges twice

Darren Priestley had fallen asleep in his van and was blocking another vehicle in Fiskerton, on December 19, said prosecutor Becky Allsop.

When the vehicle’s owner woke him up and asked him to move he drove straight into a hedge on the opposite side of the road.

The witness saw Priestley come "very close" to hitting another vehicle before veering across the road and crashing into a second hedge.

A breath test revealed he had 120 microgrammes of alcohol when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said: “He had been feeling unwell throughout the week and stayed off work. He used his father's remedy of having a drop of brandy to settle his stomach.

"He had a lot more brandy after pulling the van over. He was clearly in no fit state to drive. He confesses he is stubborn when it comes to seeing the doctor.”

Priestley spent three weeks in hospital with a burst ulcer in his esophagus and doctors explained if he had left it much longer it would have killed him.

"He has not touched a drop of alcohol since," added Mr Pridham. "He knows he is completely in the wrong.”

Priestley, 59, formerly of Newark Road, Ollerton, and now of Northgate, Newark, admitted drink driving when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court on January 16.

On Thursday he received eight weeks, suspended for 12 months.

He was disqualified for 30 months and must pay £239 in court costs.