Drink driver who hit three people with car jailed

A drink driver who hit three pedestrians with his car after leaving a nightclub when more than three times the alcohol limit has been jailed.

Christopher Parry knocked people to the ground and drove over another's foot outside the Purple nightclub in Buckie, Moray, on 21 September last year.

Parry, 57, previously admitted drink driving offences and another charge of assaulting a fellow clubber, who had attempted to stop him getting behind the wheel.

At High Court in Edinburgh, Lady Drummond jailed him for four years, and banned him from driving for six years.

The court had previously heard that a clubber noticed Parry appeared drunk and tried to stop him driving off by leaning into the driver's side of his car.

The man tried to pull Parry out and remove the keys from the ignition, however Parry drove off, causing him to fall to the ground.

Parry then drove in a circle around a car park and narrowly avoided hitting the clubber as he was still on the ground.

The court heard Parry circled the car park again and drove towards the man, who was standing on the pavement outside the club.

His vehicle then struck two other people who were standing on the pavement, knocking them to the ground.

Afterwards Parry drove off, running over the foot of a man standing nearby and breaking his toe.

Police officers found his car parked on the A98 road at Castle Terrace in Cullen, Moray.

Parry told officers people were "trying to beat him up" as he left the nightclub.

Defence advocate Simon Gilbride said: "Mr Parry is 57-years-old and now stands before this court on a very serious matter with no previous convictions of any kind and it is clear that these offences here were something completely out of character."

Mr Gilbride said his client intended to go to the car to sleep off the effects of the alcohol he had consumed earlier in the evening.

He added: "The next thing he knew, and it is no criticism of anybody, was that he was being manhandled.

"In his befuddled state he got it into his head that he was being attacked and had to get away. "

The defence counsel also told the court that Parry no longer drinks at all.

Lady Drummond said: "In my view given the seriousness of the offences, the only appropriate sentence is custodial one."