A film industry worker charged with drink-driving after an A9 van crash near Perth tried to convince a court he downed “nearly a gallon” of Tennent’s lager while waiting on police.
Thomas Daley took a sharp turn near Bankfoot and tipped his white Ford Transit van onto its side.
He had to be rescued from the vehicle by a passer-by who used a hammer to shatter his windscreen.
Daley returned a breathalyser reading of more than four times the legal limit but denied he had been drinking before the smash.
At his trial in Perth Sheriff Court, the 27-year-old claimed he drank “eight or nine” cans of Tennent’s while waiting for police to show up.
The outrageous claim was rejected by Sheriff Neil Kinnear, who described it as a “somewhat unusual reaction.”
The sheriff fined Daley £750 and banned him from driving for 30 months.
Adrenaline through the roof
Daley, whose TV and film career has been put on hold, crashed on the A9 near the B867 Bankfoot junction in the early hours of July 23 2021.
“There was a sharp turn on the road,” he told his trial.
“It was a sharp turn, there was a lack of light and I wasn’t familiar with the area.
“I veered off the side of the road and the van ended up on its side.”
Daley, from Paisley, said a passer-by came to his rescue, then called emergency services.
“He had a hammer and pulled the windscreen off to get me out.”
Asked why he did not call police himself, Daley said: “I was a bit stressed and overwhelmed.
“I couldn’t find my mobile in the van.”
He said: “Once the van crashed, my adrenalin was through the roof so I started drinking.”
Daley said he got stuck into a 10-pack of Tennent’s lager bought earlier and sitting in the passenger footwell.
He estimated he drank about eight or nine cans in the space of an hour.
The court heard officers came about 17 minutes after the accident was first reported at 4.38am.
Fiscal depute Duncan McKenzie questioned Daley about his drinking.
“By my calculations, you were averaging about a can every eight minutes,” he said.
“It was the stress of being stuck in the van,” replied Daley, who reckoned he crashed just after 4am.
Account was ‘difficult to accept’
Sheriff Kinnear told Daley: “Based on your own account, you drank approximately eight or nine cans of beer within an hour.
“Different people have different tolerances – I accept that – but that’s around four litres of lager.
“That seems to me to be a somewhat unusual reaction.
“You may well have been shocked by the accident, but while waiting you then drink nearly a gallon of beer – I find that difficult to accept.
“And for that reason I am not satisfied by your explanation.”
Daley was found guilty of drink-driving (94mics/ 22).
The court heard Daley required a driving licence for work in the TV and film world.
“His employment has been put on hold, pending the outcome of this case,” his lawyer said.
In 2020, Daley was fined £400 at Paisley Sheriff Court after setting fire to his Vauxhall Corsa in the early hours of the morning, while high on a cocktail of ecstasy, anti-depressants and alcohol.
For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook.
