Drink-driver banned after collision with cow in New Forest
The 27-year-old admitted to being over the limit at the time
A man has received a 15-month ban from driving after colliding with a cow in the New Forest while over the legal alcohol limit.
The crash happened on Roger Penny Way, near Telegraph Hill in Fordingbridge, at just before 9pm on September 16th.
27-year-old Phelim O'Hara of Wetherby Court in Totton pleaded guilty to driving with an alcohol level above the limit.
He was sentenced at Southampton Magistrates' Court last Tuesday and was fined £600, was handed a £240 victim surcharge and has been ordered to pay £85 in costs.
Investigating officer, Police Staff Investigator Annabel Gibbons, said O'Hara had claimed to feeling 'okay to drive' after consuming alcohol earlier the same evening.
"This ban of 15 months will give him plenty of time to consider what he did that evening and ensure the same doesn’t happen again.
"I would like to acknowledge that O’Hara was quick to admit what he had done and expresses that he was very sorry for what happened.
"He admitted that he had drunk alcohol during the evening, but stated that he felt he was ‘okay to drive’ when he drove his vehicle later the same evening.
"Clearly this was not the case, and a New Forest animal was sadly made to suffer as a result of his poor judgement that night."