Police officers attempting to trace the driver of a car involved in an accident followed a trail of oil from the crash scene to his home.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard they discovered a badly damaged vehicle and then a drink driver sobbing in his home.
Ernest Kedzior subsequently pled guilty to driving his Volkswagen Golf under the influence, describing his decision as “the greatest mistake of his life”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard police were called to the city’s Hilton Drive at 5.25am on March 31 this year after receiving reports a car had crashed on the carriageway.
Officers found only a pool of oil but followed its trail back to Rosehill Drive, where Kedzior lived.
They discovered his car parked in the driveway and noticed it had suffered “extensive damage”.
Through the window of Kedzior’s home, they could see the 26-year-old with his head in his hands, “clearly upset and being comforted by another male”.
He was taken to Kittybrewster Police Station and provided a breath sample that revealed a reading of 107 microgrammes. The legal limit is just 22 microgrammes.
Defence solicitor Liam McAllister said his client, originally from Poland, had come to Aberdeen to provide for his wife, who lives with him in the city.
He said the 26-year-old was “disgusted” by his own behaviour, adding that since the incident he had worked with his father-in-law to repair the vehicle.
The solicitor said: “He chose to drive from his friend’s house, where he had enjoyed a pleasant evening, to his home.
“It is a relatively short distance, which makes his decision to get behind the wheel all the more bizarre.
“He has urged me to stress to the court that this is the ‘greatest mistake he has ever made in his life’.”
Despite that admission, Kedzior argued that he had consumed a quantity of alcohol in the time between getting out of his car and the arrival of police, which he said went some way to explaining the high reading.
Mr McAllister added that finances were tight and that his client would find it difficult to pay a fine.
Sheriff Ian Wallace imposed a 16-month driving ban and a community payback order requiring Kedzior to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work within four months.