A soldier caused £10,000 worth of damage to his comrade’s car after getting behind the wheel while twice the drink-drive limit.
Lance Corporal Graham Wight overturned the red Audi TT near Kinloss Army Barracks, where he serves, after a boozy quiz night in the sergeant’s mess.
The 33-year-old and his friend – who owned the car – then abandoned it in the field.
At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, Wight was banned from driving for two years after admitting the drink-driving charge.
Fiscal Kevin Corrins said the incident unfolded after a social gathering at the barracks on Tuesday, March 15.
The court heard Wight, who is part of the 39 Engineer Regiment, and his friend left the base together shortly after midnight to head back to a nearby residential block.
Mr Corrins said a guard posted at the gates of the barracks described Wight and his companion as being “in good humour and quite giggly” when they left.
He added: “They told the guard they were just going to the block across the road, but after letting them leave, the guard heard the car engine revving and saw it turn away and go up the road.
“About five minutes later, another witness saw the car on its roof in a nearby field and contacted the police.
“It had broken through a fence, and appeared to have skidded across the field at different points before hitting a second fence and coming to rest on its roof.”
By the time officers arrived at the scene, near the crossroads at the College of Roseisle, the two soldiers had abandoned the vehicle.
They appeared shortly later at the nearby Roseisle Distillery, where both “appeared to be bloodied by various cuts”.
A nightshift employee dialled 999, and when emergency services arrived Wight immediately confessed he had been driving the Audi while drunk.
He was taken to Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin, and medics took a sample of his blood. The court heard that even two hours after the crash, the reading showed Wight had 129 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system. The legal limit is 50 milligrammes.
Wight, of 39 Princes Street, Lochmaben, later admitted drink driving.
Solicitor Brent Lockie asked Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov to show some leniency, pointing out he would face strict sanctions from his military superiors.
Mr Lockie said: “He has been in the regiment for 12 years, but will now miss out in the next round of promotions because of this.
“That could cost him many thousands of pounds, in addition to the £9,600 in car repairs he has already paid, and the £350 cost of replacing the fence.
“This is the first time he has been in trouble in his life, and he’s fortunate he wasn’t very badly injured.”
Sheriff Pasportnikov disqualified Wight for two years, and fined him £400.
An Army spokesman said: “We are aware that a soldier has appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court.
“Army disciplinary procedures are now ongoing, so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
