District Judge Nigel Broderick at Ballymena Magistrates Court banned a 67-year-old farmer from Starbog Road near Larne from driving for 20 months and fined him £600 on February 26.

The farmer admitted driving a Mitsubishi L200 pickup with excess alcohol, failing to remain at the scene of a collision, lacking insurance and holding no driving licence. Prosecutors withdrew charges of dangerous driving, failing to stop, failing to report the collision and obstructing police.

Police received reports at 7.30pm on August 2, 2023, of a possible drink-driver on Browndod Road outside Larne. The truck struck a wall at a house, causing substantial damage, before driving away.

Officers located the vehicle down a lane on Raloo Road with extensive frontal damage and deployed airbags. They found the driver in a nearby caravan, difficult to rouse and with a strong smell of alcohol. A blood test showed 204 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, exceeding the legal limit of 80.

CCTV footage captured the collision. The farmer has a prior record. His defence stated he drank the previous night, consumed more before driving, panicked after the crash, left the scene and drank additional alcohol in the caravan.

The judge noted the driver was too intoxicated to operate a vehicle and fortunate no serious injuries occurred.