Banned: Shropshire man offered £3,000 to cover up his drink-driving
A Shropshire man who crashed his car while under the influence of alcohol offered a passer-by £3,000 to help cover it up, a court heard.
Jesse James Woodhouse, from Redhill, Hook-a-gate, near Shrewsbury, pleaded guilty to a charge of driving a motor vehicle while over the alcohol llimit on October 11.
Abbie Hall, prosecuting at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court, said Woodhouse, 50, had struck the wall after clipping the kerb with his black Saab on Annescroft Road, while driving in the direction of Exford Green after an evening out.
The court heard that Woodhouse had then attempted to hide the crash, offering a passer-by £3,000 to help him move the car off the road and out of sight.
Asked by the witness what had happened, Woodhouse replied by saying that he had "been an idiot".
When breathalysed by police at the scene, Woodhouse was found to have 86 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The drink-drive limit is 35 microgrammes.
Woodhouse told the court that on the night in question he was "only going for a pint and a take-away", but had stayed too long and ended up consuming too much alcohol before driving home. He said that a driving ban would make it hard for him to find work.
The court also heard that he had a history of drink-driving offences.
Magistrates told Woodhouse that he had committed an "extremely serious offence", and banned him from driving for three years. He was also ordered to pay a fine of £240, and court costs of £285, as well as a victim surcharge of £24.
