A DRUNK driver who ploughed into another car after running a red light has walked away from court after narrowly avoiding a prison sentence.

Michael Pearce, 32, pleaded guilty to driving while over the limit when he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court.

The court heard that when Pearce was arrested on the morning of September 11 he was found to be almost four times over the legal drink drive limit.

Pauline Lambert, prosecuting, said: “This offence was discovered as a result of a road traffic collision on Farringdon Road.

“A driver has had to flag down the police – she says the driver, Mr Pearce, has gone through a red light and hit her rear driver’s door with the front of his car.

“She says he came from nowhere.”

Pearce failed a roadside breath test and was arrested, when he was taken into custody he was given a further test and blew a reading of 116 - the legal limit is 35.

Ms Lambert added: “He fully admitted he had been drinking the night before, he also said he shouldn’t have had the children in the car.

“He said he had no intention of hurting anyone, he had simply taken his friend to town with her two children in the car.”

The court heard that Pearce, from Lechlade, suffers with a number of mental health conditions and is taking medication for them – however he is also an alcoholic.

Leaving him in no doubt as to the seriousness of the offence, District Judge Simon Cooper warned Pearce that he faced the prospect of a prison sentence.

He said: “I am ordering a full report on you. You were so far over the limit it defies belief.

“There were children in the car, you’d been drinking since the previous day, you ran a red light and there was a road traffic accident.”

The court later heard from a probation officer that Pearce appeared to be extremely remorseful, accepting that he shouldn’t have been driving on the morning in question.

He was described as a functioning alcoholic but he claimed to have been abstinent for the past seven days leading up to his court appearance.

The probation officer told the court that after the crash, Pearce had self-referred to an alcohol treatment service to get help with his addiction.

After hearing their report, District Judge Cooper opted for a community penalty in place of a custodial sentence.

He praised Pearce for “clearly taking the matter seriously by self-referring” to the alcohol treatment service.

He passed a sentence of a 12 month community order which will include 20 days of rehabilitation activity as directed by the probation service, a six month alcohol treatment requirement and a three week curfew from 8pm to 5am.

Pearce was disqualified from driving for two years.