Driver scared of bridge drank vodka for 'courage'

• The Forth Road Bridge

Leon Wasilewski claimed he had been drinking heavily because he was afraid of bridges and had been told to cross the Forth to carry out his next delivery.

He parked his van in a stranger's driveway to sleep, but when he was woken up and questioned, he reversed at speed and crashed into a tree. When police arrived, Wasilewski was still in the diving seat, and they found him to be slurring his words and unsteady on his feet, so he was arrested.

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, told Perth Sheriff Court yesterday: "He has driven since leaving work and has always been employed. He has lost his employment as a result of this.

"The explanation given is that he has a concern and fear of driving over bridges. He had been diverted or was going to be diverted en route over a bridge.

"He stopped then and had a drink for Dutch courage. There is no evidence that he has a problematic relationship with alcohol generally."

Several years earlier, Wasilewski had been driving across the Severn Bridge in a lorry when high winds almost tipped his vehicle over.

Since then, he has planned his routes as a delivery driver to avoid crossing bridges, but a change to his route meant he had to cross the Forth on his way to Harrogate.

Wasilewski, 61, of Daventry, Northamptonshire, admitted he drove while almost four times over the legal alcohol limit at Balado, by Kinross, on 8 October last year.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis banned him from driving for 30 months and ordered him to carry out 80 hours' community service.