Man three times drink drive limit wrote off three cars in crash with knuckle duster in his back pocket

They branded the offending of Louis Huddleston, 26, as "quite shocking" when he appeared at Leeds Magistrates' Court yesterday.

The court heard that he was more than three and a half times the drink drive limit when he crashed into the back of another car that was stood and waiting to make a right turn on Queensway, Yeadon at around 1.30pm on Saturday March 23. The impact injured both the driver and her daughter who bit her mouth, as well as forcing the victim's car into another parked vehicle. All three cars involved ended up being written off.

Prosecting, Alex Bozman, said: "Huddleston got out of his van and was unsteady on his feet, police were called formed the impression he was significantly in drink."

The court also heard Huddleston, of Greenacre Park Rise at Rawdon, had been drinking the night before but couldn't remember how much or if he had drank that morning.

He failed to do a road-side breath test and was taken to Elland Road police station where the knuckle duster was found in his back pocket during a search and another breath test found him to have 117 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit being 35.

He wouldn't answer questions during police interview but pleaded guilty to the two charges at Friday's hearing.

Following an in-depth discussion with the defendant, the probation service said: "He was fully aware of the dangers of drink driving and the possible outcomes of what could have happened and what he could have been in court for today and did apologise for the way he acted that day."

Huddleston has previous convictions for battery, actual bodily harm and assault and the court was told offending occurs when he has been drinking and he does have an alcohol problem.

After a long adjournment for deliberation, magistrates gave him a 12 month community order, a six month alcohol rehabilitation course, 20 days worth of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement to include eight days on managing emotions, a 26 month driving ban that can be reduced by attending a course and a six month curfew from 7pm to 7am to be monitored by an electronic tag. Huddleston was also ordered to pay £170 in costs to the courts.