An Aberdeen football hooligan has been disqualified from driving after he flipped his car while driving home drunk from a pub that was just two minutes from his home.
Ben Cumming, 20, was driving dangerously when he collided with a kerb at high speed on Granitehill Road, Aberdeen, in early December last year.
By the time police arrived, Cumming had fled the scene but was soon located at his mum’s house.
Cumming was then given a breath test and he was found to be more than four times the legal limit to drive.
His solicitor, Debbie Ginniver, told Aberdeen Sheriff Court her client was at a loss to explain why he “foolishly” attempted to drive home from a pub just two minutes from his home.
Cumming – who was involved in an altercation with Rangers fans following a Don’s victory in 2023 – was made subject to a two-year UK-wide football stadium ban at the same court last year.
Accused was driving at excess speed
Fiscal depute Andrew McMann told the court the crash happened at around 8pm on December 7 last year and road conditions were poor due to high winds and rain.
He said a number of motorists and pedestrians were in the area when they saw Cumming’s car travelling towards a roundabout.
The vehicle was moving at speeds “in excess of the speed limit” despite the bad weather conditions and didn’t have its lights on, the fiscal depute stated.
As Cumming exited the roundabout and went to negotiate a corner onto Granitehill Road his car collided with a kerb, causing the vehicle to turn over and come to rest on its roof.
Police officers traced Cumming to his mum’s house where they found him to be under the influence and smelling strongly of alcohol.
When breathalysed Cumming gave a reading of 94 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
In the dock, he pleaded guilty to one charge of dangerous driving and a second charge of driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
‘A very, very foolish thing’
Defence solicitor Debbie Ginniver told the court that, on the night in question, her client was at bar close to his home address.
“His intention was to leave the car and walk home later in the evening,” she said.
“Mr Cumming cannot provide any explanation for the foolish and dangerous decision that he made – it was a two-minute distance from his home.
“He accepts full responsibility and understands that the situation could have been much, much worse.”
Sheriff Rhona Wark told Cumming that “this is a very, very foolish thing you have done”.
“There are going to be quite significant consequences for you,” she added.
Sheriff Wark disqualified Cumming, of Cummings Park Drive, Aberdeen, from driving for two years and ordered him to re-sit his driving test.
She also fined him a total of £1,040.
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