A heartbroken husband found drunk at the wheel of his Tesla has been spared a driving ban after arguing that he had been drinking whisky inside his luxury car out of fear of bumping into his estranged wife.
Businessman Simon Hayes, 50, was found fast asleep by police officers in the driver's side of his stationary vehicle.
Upon arriving at a car park just a mile from Hayes' £500,000 semi-detached home, they tested him and found he was three times over the alcohol limit.
It emerged that the company managing director - who runs a recruitment firm in Wilmslow, Cheshire - was embroiled in a bitter marriage break up with his wife, and had left work at 10am after a meltdown.
The dad-of-four said he had only parked up next to Lindow Common, Wilmslow, to delay going home, and insisted he had only started drinking Haig whisky after parking the £58,000 Y Model Tesla.
At Crewe magistrates court, Hayes, from Wilmslow - who admitted being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle - faced disqualification, but Justices of the Peace only went on to impose 10 points on his licence after hearing of his marital woes.
in prosecuting, Tanya Berridge-Burley, said: "The vehicle was described as a black Tesla Model Y. On arrival, the reported vehicle was parked at the far end of the car park which was open to the public at the time. The officers parked behind the vehicle. The driver's door was locked. The officer looked inside and could see a male who appeared to be asleep.
"It was necessary to bang hard on the window to rouse the male. He appeared to be very disorientated. He wound the window down and officers could immediately smell intoxicants. His eyes were glazed, his speech was slurred.
"There was an unopened pack of beer on the passenger's seat. He was asked to take a seat in the police vehicle which he agreed to. He was unsteady on his feet as he walked to the police vehicle.
"He identified himself as Simon Hayes, the defendant. The officers requested a sample of breath for a roadside breath test. The test resulted in a fail. He was arrested and cautioned and he made no reply."
Miss Berridge-Burley said that a partially used bottle of Haig whisky was found in the central console of his car when officers went to retrieve his phone.
The dad was then taking into custody in Middlewich for further breath test, where his breath reading was 96 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath - with the legal limit being 35 mcg/100 ml.
In mitigation Hayes' counsel Paul Hodgkinson said: "I do accept that the scenario in which he was arrested does not make good listening but he is going through a very difficult divorce, not one of his choosing if I can put it in those terms.
"He is separated from his wife and they four children, aged six, nine, 12 and 14. This offence happened at 10.30 in the morning on a Monday."
Mr Hodgkinson then went on to explain that it is "important" to have taken an incident that occurred on Sunday in consideration, explaining: "On Sunday was a time they cleared out of the family home. He shares the care of the children with his wife. On the Sunday the defendant had gone through a very painful day clearing out belongings from the family home which had been the family home for a significant time."
He added that his children were "incredibly upset, not just with the upheaval of marriage breakdown but losing the family home where they had grown up."
The business owner is usually "hardworking and industrious," Hayes' counsel argued, saying that "he basically had a breakdown," which resulted in his actions.
He said: "He was not in a drunken state. He basically had a breakdown. He drove to the car park which is in walking distance of where he lives and the reason he was there was that his wife still had access to the family home.
"Because they were emptying the family home and it was an acrimonious split, the defendant could not go to his home because he would have met his wife and things would have gotten into trouble.
"He thought discretion was the better part of valour so he stayed in the carpark and he began to drink the whisky. "Lots of his belongings were in the vehicle because he had spent the time before clearing out the family home.
"Perhaps this puts a different gloss on what appeared to be the case at first blush. This is not a defendant who has a problem with alcohol. He made a terrible mistake on this date."
Mr Hodgkinson told the court that Hayes' take home pay is £50,000 per year and added: "He is a man of relatively comfortable means. Because of these facts, the isolated and unusual nature of the offence and why he did not go home, they would allow you to draw back from imposing a disqualification."
Hayes was also fined £960 and was ordered to pay £484 in costs and victim surcharge.
