A man got so drunk that he ended up stealing a double decker bus to get home, saying he is ‘unable to remember’ the unusual ride back to his house after a night out.
Stephen McCartan, 52, had been out with a friend in Poole, Dorset, on 27 December, but the pair became separated.
As he tried to work out how to get back to his home, located three miles away in the village of Hamworthy, McCartan was caught on CCTV cameras ‘staggering’ to the town’s bus station at 1:00am.
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A court heard how McCartan, a former soldier, stumbled onto a bus and made his way up to the top deck for a nap on a seat, waking up about an hour later and heading downstairs.
Sitting himself at the driver’s wheel, he then started the bus’ engine and reversed it out of the station before driving towards his house – although not without causing more than £6,000 in damage, having crashed into railings and a parked Fiat Panda.
As a result of his drunken driving, damage to the bus and railings came to £4,646, while the car was ‘written off’, with an insurance claim stating its value as £1,640.
Shami Duggal, prosecuting, told magistrates in Poole: "The defendant was seen to stagger into Poole bus station on CCTV at 1am in the morning.
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"He was seen to open the doors of the bus. He climbed to the top deck and went to sleep for over an hour and was then seen to sit in the driver seat and tried to get the bus started.
"Eventually he was able to reverse the bus, hitting a railing, causing damage to the railing, then drove off towards Hamworthy.
"He drove to Egmont Road and left the bus, with engine still running, next to the play park at Turlin Moor.
"The bus was damaged as a result of the collision as was another parked vehicle."
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Appearing in court this week, McCartan claimed he has no memory of the incident, but said he was ‘extremely remorseful and upset’ about what happened.
Ewa Russell, defending, said McCartan had taken Xanax – a fast-acting tranquilliser – to help with his anxiety at 10:00pm that night.
She said: “It is a rather bizarre thing to do and something you can’t get away with.
“Mr McCartan is unable to offer any reasonable explanation, he hardly recalls the incident but did recognise himself in the images and accepts it was him.”
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The court heard how McCartan – who served in the Royal Engineers in Northern Ireland between 1992 and 1995 – has been diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression, having faced several traumatic incidents during his lifetime and ‘probably’ has PTSD, according to his probation order.
After he pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without the consent of the owner, magistrates deferred sentencing, with McCartan given six months to prove he can abide by the law, or may face jail.
He was also told to save £250 towards paying compensation.
Topics: UK News
Jess Hardiman