A SWINDON transport manager who decided to drive home after taking a taxi to his partner’s house following a party, crashed into a parked car on his way home, a court has heard.

Christopher Bauch, aged 32, of Haydon Court, pleaded guilty to a charge of drink-driving when he appeared before Wiltshire Magistrates sitting at Swindon.

Prosecuting, Pauline Lambert told the court that at 3.30am on November 13 this year police were called to a collision on Eastbury Way, Swindon, where they found a badly-damaged VW Polo car.

There was debris from a car in a nearby field and a number plate that did not belong to the Polo, Ms Lambert said.

Police went to the address registered to the owner of the car with that number plate and saw there an extensively damaged Audi A3.

Bauch, Ms Lambert said, smelled of alcohol and a roadside breath test registered an alcohol level of 42 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Defending, Gordon Hotson said Bauch had been to a party with his partner, taken a taxi back to her house and then decided to drive home.

He had collided with a parked vehicle but as there was no-one around to talk to at that time had left his number plate at the scene.

Mr Hotson said that Bauch’s work as a transport supervisor for a Swindon-based company he needed to be able to drive to visit customers.

Bauch was disqualified from driving for 12 months, fined £480 and ordered to pay £85 court costs together with £48 victim surcharge.

Chairman of the bench Richard Mattick told Bauch that if he completed a drink-drive rehabilitation course by the end of June he would be able to drive again on August 29, 2017.