A 19 YEAR old driver was eating a takeaway which was resting on his steering wheel when he collided with another car, heard Skipton Magistrates Court.

Pablo Mercer, who was more than twice the drink-drive limit, was on the wrong side of the road and was eating when he collided with another car in Skipton, the court heard today (Friday).

The driver of the other vehicle, in a statement read out in court, described how he had been driving along Keighley Road when Mercer, in a Nissan Micra, was coming the other way.

He was crossing a canal bridge when he collided with Mercer's car, which was on the wrong side of the road. He noted how Mercer had been eating a takeaway, which was sitting on his steering wheel. His vehicle had suffered damage to one of the mirrors and side panels. He had pulled over and he believed Mercer had tried to drive off, but was unable to do so because of damage to his car, the court heard.

Mercer, said the driver of the other car, got out of his vehicle, appeared intoxicated and could not stand.

The police were called and following a positive roadside breath test, Mercer was arrested and taken to the police station where he was found to have 91 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

Mercer, of previous good character, admitted drink driving but claimed that the other driver had come out of a side street and had 'crashed' into him.

The court heard from a probation officer that Mercer, a roofer had said in a pre-sentence interview that he had drunk four pints of beer with friends in Skipton before getting a takeaway. He did not usually drink and drive, but he had not believed he had been that intoxicated.

He did not feel he had been responsible for the crash, but he had accepted he had used poor judgement.

It was his first time in court and he did not understand what units of alcohol meant.

Magistrates gave Mercer, of Scar View, Royd Street, Cowling, a 12 month community order. He will have to carry out 50 hours of unpaid work and complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days to address drinking and thinking skills.

He was also banned from driving for two years and will have to pay costs of £85 and a surcharge of £114.

If he completes a drink-drivers rehabilitation course by July 22, 2024, his ban will be reduced by 24 weeks.