An airman was five times the drink-drive limit when he crashed his £20,000 BMW – after being persuaded to get behind the wheel by a woman he had taken home.
David Fenton’s blue 2 Series M Sport plunged down an embankment after he lost control on the A941 Lossiemouth-Elgin road.
Firefighters had to free his injured passenger from the wreckage of the 218d coupe after it skidded more than 100ft into a field and landed on its side.
At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, Fenton was told his actions could easily have had “fatal consequences”.
The 20-year-old was banned from the road for four years, and ordered to perform 135 hours of unpaid work.
Fiscal Kevin Corrins said the emergency services were called to the incident around 3.20am on Saturday, August 21.
Mr Corrins said: “When they got there, they found the vehicle had left the road, rolled over and come to rest in a field just north of the junction leading to Spynie Palace.
“They discovered the accused and a female passenger within the car.
“When procedures were carried out, it emerged that he had 111 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – more than five times the legal limit of 22mcg.”
Fenton’s agent, solicitor David Adam, said his client had invited the young woman back to RAF Lossiemouth with him after a night out in Elgin.
And he claimed that it was only at her insistence that Fenton decided to get behind the wheel.
Mr Adam said: “She said she wanted to go home, and eventually after some persuasion he relented and took the foolish decision to drive her home.
“He didn’t get terribly far, and perhaps it was fortunate that nothing worse happened in the accident.”
Mr Adam said Fenton was “visibly upset” throughout police questioning, and was unlikely to trouble the court again.
He added: “He’s ashamed of his behaviour, and of having to appear in court on a matter of this ilk.”
Fenton admitted driving with excess alcohol and crashing his car, injuring his female passenger.
It is understood that Fenton purchased his £19,700 BMW just a month before he crashed it.
Mr Adam said his client still had £18,700 in payments to make on vehicle, and had been left with a £4,000 repair bill following last month’s accident.
Sheriff Chris Dickson commented on the “very high” alcohol reading Fenton produced.
He told the serviceman: “This is well over the limit, and it’s caused you to lose control of and overturn your car.
“This could have resulted in fatal consequences.”
The sheriff disqualified him from driving for four years.
Fenton’s home address was given in court as Aberford Close, Newcastle, but he currently stays at the Lossiemouth airbase.
