A Stirlingshire man sparked an hours-long search and rescue mission after entering the River Forth following a drunken crash.
Alistair Wallace was still over the legal limit when he was found three hours after the smash on Stirling’s Cornton Road.
A full-scale rescue mission had been launched, featuring dogs and a helicopter with heat-seeking camera, as fears grew for Wallace.
In a letter to the city’s sheriff court, the 22-year-old said he feared he had ruined his life but Sheriff Elizabeth McFarlane encouraged him to treat it as a blip and turn his life around.
‘Ali, get out of the water’
Fiscal depute Lindsey Brook told Stirling Sheriff Court: “At around 12.12am police were contacted by a member of the public reporting that a vehicle was stuck in the middle of the road and three males were trying to push the van off the road.
“There was a further call reporting a loud bang and screeching noise.
“Police attended and were advised that the males had run off into a grassy area.
“A member of the public reported hearing, ‘Ali, get out of the water’ and the sound of splashing.
“Police were approached by a witness who stated his friend had entered the water and had crashed his car.”
The witness added Wallace had been drinking in Morrisons bar in Stirling.
Letter to court
The information sparked a search involving police dogs and helicopter, as well as staff from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.
Two hours later, the helicopter found a heat source near where Wallace was last seen and the cold and wet man was taken to hospital.
Wallace had sent a letter to the court expressing remorse and setting out the consequences of his “stupid” actions.
He had lost his job as a trainee gas engineer as a result and is now working as a painter and decorator.
Sheriff McFarlane told him: “You say ‘what I’ve done has ruined the rest of my life’ – I hope that’s not the case.
“Don’t let it all be doom and gloom and ruin the rest of your life. It’s a little blip and you seem to have learned from it.”
Wallace, of Touchill Crescent, Plean, admitted driving with excess alcohol (89mgs/ 67) on June 24.
Sheriff McFarlane banned him from driving for 12 months, reduced to nine if he undertakes a drink driver awareness course, and fined him £300.
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