Drunk motorist ploughs into taxi...telegraph pole...garden...

Tom Bryan, of Burlyns Lane, Ball Hill, was more than three times the limit when he tried to blame the other driver, the court was told.
Helen Waite, prosecuting on Thursday, November 6, said the drama on the A4 at Speen attracted a crowd of nearby residents who were alerted by the loud crashes.
She said: “Police received reports that, at 1am, a car had crashed into a garden at Hillside Cottages.”
The court heard a taxi driver, driving a Skoda, had been heading out from Newbury when he was startled by bright headlights just before an oncoming BMW in the wrong carriageway crashed into him with a loud bang.
Ms Waite said: “Police were called and found the BMW had significant damage to the front. It had also crashed into a telegraph pole and gone through a fence, coming to rest in the garden.
“Mr Bryan then accused the taxi driver, a Mr Wallace, of being on the wrong side of the road. Mr Wallace was shocked by that accusation. He described the defendant as being drunk and all over the place.”
She added: “The road safety issues are quite apparent from what happened.”
Tests subsequently showed 117mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath in the system of Mr Bryan, a sales assistant with John Lewis.
The legal limit is 35mcg.
Mike Davis, defending, said his client “has never been in any sort of trouble before” and added: “The bottom line is, he made a huge error of judgement.”
Mr Davis conceded that the alcohol reading was “exceptionally high” and said that Mr Bryan, after drinking with friends, had then made the decision to drive “for reasons he can’t explain.”
He added: “He genuinely and bitterly regrets his decision to drive home. Fortunately no one was injured.”
A probation officer who had interviewed Mr Bryan earlier, said: “He has learned a huge lesson from all this.”
Mr Davis then handed magistrates character references written on behalf of his client.
After retiring with colleagues to consider sentence, presiding magistrate Sue Campbell said: “This was a very serious incident. It’s fortunate there were no serious injuries as a result.”
She said, however, that the bench accepted the offence was “out of character” for Mr Bryan, telling him: “We’re going to hit you in your pocket.”
Mr Bryan was banned from driving for 28 months.
In addition he was fined £580 and ordered to pay £85 costs plus a statutory surcharge of £58.