An Aberdeenshire man crashed his car into a field and knocked himself unconscious while three times the legal alcohol limit.
Joel Smith was disqualified from driving for three years when his case called at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
The 26-year-old of Gardenston Road in Laurencekirk had been drinking on the afternoon of Sunday, March 1, when he decided to drive through the Aberdeenshire countryside from Fordoun to his hometown with his fiancee and friends also in the vehicle.
Fiscal depute Linzi Souter said it was 2.30pm when a fellow motorist noted Smith attempting to overtake her in the face of oncoming traffic.
The other driver became worried and pulled over.
Smith was then seen trying to take a left hand bend at speed when the car flew from the road and into a nearby field.
He was initially unconscious as police were called, and later claimed he had not been driving.
Defence agent Gregor Kelly said his client had made “silly remarks” to the police in the wake of the crash.
He said: “He has little recollection as he was unconscious for a spell.”
The court heard that Smith, a forklift driver, had been en route from Fordoun to Laurencekirk to meet other friends.
Smith pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence, driving at excessive speed and overtaking when it was dangerous to do so.
He was fined £500 and banned from the roads for three years