Published at 14:23, Tuesday, 06 March 2012
A drunk Gurkha who was driving a minibus that ploughed through a garden wall on a busy Carlisle street has been banned from the road for more than two years.
The crashed bus
Suk Punmagar, 55, of Delagoa Street, Currock, was three times over the legal drink drive limit when he crashed the minibus.
He pleaded guilty to drink driving at Carlisle Magistrates’ Court today.
Punmagar, who works for Frank Bird Poultry in Langwathby, was driving a group of Nepalese from a military function at Carlisle Castle when the crash happened on Victoria Place on February 18.
Prosecutor Pam Ward said: “When police arrived a group of Nepalese people were out of the crashed vehicle. One lady had a cut to her head.
“Police spoke to the defendant and he said he was driving back from a party and had consumed about three cans of beer. He was fully co-operative and after a breath specimen was found to have 106 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
“He told police that he saw something flash in front of him, he turned left and then crashed into the wall.”
The court was told that Punmagar, who is a dad-of-four, was in charge of driving a group of workers from Carlisle to Langwathby for work each day.
He received about £6-a-day extra in his wages for carrying out this task and that is why he had a minibus.
Although, he still works at the poultry farm, he no longer drives the minibus, the court heard.
Geoff Lockerbie, for Punmagar, said: “My client is a responsible person and this offence is entirely out of character.
“He had not intended to drink as much as he did. He had about three cans and a couple of glasses of whisky.”
As well as being disqualified from driving for 26 months, Punmagar was also ordered to complete 160 hours of community service.
He must also remain indoors, under a curfew, on Saturday and Sunday nights for the next four weeks from 6pm to 6am.
He must also pay £85 costs.