Devastating results of boozing, driving and hitting a wall

THIS was the scene of destruction left behind in a couple's garden after a drink-driver ploughed through their garden wall on Christmas Eve.

Graham and Yvonne Dooley, of Main Road,Wilford Village, had just nodded off to sleep when the car came crashing through the 4ft brick wall.

Driver Adam Bishop lost control on a bend and careered into the wall in the early hours.

The 18-year-old is understood to have got behind the wheel to drive just 300 yards home from a friend's house.

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The wall and wrought iron gate were flattened by Bishop in a Peugeot 306. He was on leave from the Royal Artillery in Germany.

Mrs Dooley said the car flipped over a few times before smashing into the wall and stopping on the edge of their driveway.

Her husband Graham Dooley took this photograph for the Post of the aftermath.

The couple were woken by the sound of a bang and, when they looked outside, were stunned to see the car and fragments of their wall scattered everywhere. Flying bricks from the wall caused more than £1,000 damage to Mr Dooley's car.

"It could have been much worse, because he could have hit the front of the house and come into the front of the house," said Mrs Dooley.

"I was pleased the driver was not injured. The wall and car are secondary to the value of lives. They are only material things."

After calling emergency services, the couple went outside and found Bishop in their garden unscathed apart from a small scratch on his chin.

Mrs Dooley understands that he had crawled out of a shattered window in the car.

It was 3.30am before they went to bed. Police arranged for the crashed Peugeot to be removed from their garden.

Mrs Dooley said they are waiting for their insurers to assess the cost of the damage so work can start on its repair.

She and her husband are backing the Post's None for the Road campaign – which aims to get across the message that if you are driving the only safe amount of alcohol to drink is none.

"I'm a great believer that if you are driving ... just don't drink," said Mrs Dooley.

"There are plenty of other options without having to get into your car and driving – there are taxis and buses.

"I think the driver of this car was only going about 300 yards home from his friends. He could have left his car at his friend's house. He could easily have walked."

At Nottingham Magistrates' Court, Bishop pleaded guilty to drink-driving in Main Road after having 88 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

He was fined £350 and banned from driving for 20 months. He must pay a victim surcharge of £15 and court costs of £85.