A village householder thought a plane had crashed after a drink-driving Fife pub owner struck a garden wall and woke him.
Kirk Gillon told his fellow Limekilns resident he had swerved to avoid a cat.
Gillon then drove off in his vehicle, which had a wheel detached and damaged wing mirror, but was soon stopped by police.
Gillon, 46, appeared in court to plead guilty to driving a Nissan Navara while more than three times the legal limit (77mics/22) in Dunfermline Road, Limekilns, on June 23 this year.
He also admitted driving carelessly by crashing into a garden wall and driving the vehicle following the collision in an unsafe condition.
His defence lawyer told Dunfermline Sheriff Court her client had, in fact, struck a speed bump rather than dodging the pet.
‘Plane crash’ noise
Procurator fiscal depute Azrah Yousaf told the court it was about 1.35am when a householder asleep in his back garden was woken by the impact of the car on the wall.
The fiscal said: “It was so loud he thinks a plane has crashed.
“He gets up and goes to the front of the house and sees the vehicle driven by the accused sitting outside.
“The accused is the only person in the car.
“The person who heard the crash opens the passenger door and the accused tells him a cat had run out and he had swerved.
“He also told the witness he was going too fast.”
Ms Yousaf said the householder went to call police as he could smell alcohol from Gillon.
When he went to make the phone call he heard the sound of an engine starting up.
Police arrival
The fiscal continued: “He saw the accused attempting to drive the vehicle up the hill, very slowly”.
The car travelled about 15 metres and came to rest outside another property on the same road.
Police arrived soon after and Gillon initially started to walk off but they caught up with him and took his car keys.
Defence lawyer Aime Allan said Gillon, of Charlesway South, Limekilns, runs one of the local establishments in the area.
Companies house lists Gillon as a director of Simbali Ltd, which is registered to The Ship Inn in Halketts Road, Limekilns.
The solicitor said Gillon was having a shandy after work when he was invited by other locals to join them in having more alcohol.
She said Gillon accepts he had too much to drink and made the stupid decision to drive home.
She said her client accepts the crash happened but it was because he had hit a speed bump badly, not due to a cat.
The lawyer said he then drove the car a short distance as he was causing an obstruction.
Ms Allan said Gillon and his partner of 12 years bought the business six months before Covid hit and it has been “extremely difficult” for the couple.
Gillon also experienced the loss of his mum in April and that he helps care for his 86-year-old father.
Previous conviction
Sheriff Gordon Liddle told Gillon although he collided with a garden wall, it could have been a person.
The sheriff banned him from driving for 16 months and fined him £800.
The court heard Gillon had previously been convicted of consuming excess alcohol while in charge of a vehicle.
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