A motorist who told police to 'give him 24 hours' for an alcohol test after ploughing into a parked car has been banned from driving.
Anthony Walker, from east Manchester, told Tameside Magistrates' Court on Wednesday (October 20) that he had lost his job over his 'bad mistake' back on August 27.
Prosecuting, Gareth Hughes told the court that at around midnight, police had been called out to reports of a road traffic collision.
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On arrival, officers saw a red BMW with a 'large amount of damage' to the passenger side, while the front wing and wheel were missing - while around 50 metres up the road, a silver Mercedes-Benz was seen with damage to the driver's side.
Mr Hughes said: "Officers spoke to the members of the public, who pointed out a male driver, and that was Mr Walker.
"He appeared to be heavily intoxicated, slurring his words, and he was detained."
Mr Hughes told the court that Walker struggled to provide a breath sample, but eventually was able to give a sample that showed a positive result for alcohol.
The court heard he was taken to a police station in Bury, where officers wanted Hughes to give another breath sample, but Walker refused.
Mr Hughes said: "He told officers to leave him in his cell and do the test in 24 hours' time."
In a statement read in court, the owner of the other car involved in the crash said it had been parked up at the time, and he has since been unable to use it for work or driving his children around.
Walker, who represented himself in court, simply said 'sorry' when he was first asked by magistrates if he wanted to explain his actions.
The 36-year-old pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen.
Given another chance to tell his side of the story, he added: "I'm really sorry. I won't be doing it again. It was a stupid night out and it was a bad mistake.
"I was struggling, it was failing and failing. I said 'you can take a blood sample'. I thought that's what was happening.
"I've lost my job over my driving, but I have got a job interview tomorrow for being back as a chef."
Walker, of Tartan Street, Clayton, had one previous conviction for drink driving back in 2002.
For his latest offence, he was disqualified from driving for 30 months and handed a 10-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months.
Walker must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work, attend a drink driving rehabilitation course, pay a victim surcharge of £128 and costs of £85.
After giving Walker his sentence, magistrate Linda Furness, chair of the bench, told him: "Your actions have impacted greatly on the livelihood of the owner of the vehicle that you hit."
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