A SERVING soldier who ploughed into a wall and a lamppost after downing pints of beer and cider had most likely fallen asleep at the wheel, a court has heard.

Gunner Simon Fitzakerley, of French Road in Poole, had been out to celebrate his birthday in the hours before the crash on December 11 last year.

The new father parked his car before meeting friends and family.

Over the course of the evening, he drank three pints of cider, three pints of beer, two cocktails and a shot of ouzo before returning home in a taxi.

However, after arriving at his address in the early hours of the morning the 34-year-old rowed with his partner, who had given birth to their son nine weeks before.

Fitzakerley then left the property and walked around 40 minutes back to his Peugeot 107 before deciding to drive back to his barracks in Salisbury.

Around 22 miles into his journey, as he drove through Sixpenny Handley, his car crossed the carriageway and travelled along a pavement before colliding with a brick wall and a lamppost.

An off-duty police officer stopped at the scene and called 999.

The defendant was arrested and taken to hospital. A blood sample was taken hours later and investigators estimated he would have had around 150 micrograms of alcohol per litre of blood at the time of the collision. The limit is 80.

On Friday, he appeared at Poole Magistrates' Court to admit a single count of drink driving.

Mitigating, Michael McGhie said Fitzakerley, who serves with the Royal Artillery based at Larkhill, is "extremely disappointed with his conduct".

"He realises he is going to lose his licence for a considerable time," he said.

"He was celebrating his birthday. He did have a considerable amount of alcohol that night but was not planning to drive."

Mr McGhie said the defendant was "not fit to drive".

"He lost control of the vehicle probably because he fell asleep at the wheel," he said.

"It was fortunate in all the circumstances that no pedestrians were injured and no other vehicles damaged."

Fitzakerley may yet be dismissed from the Army, Mr McGhie said.

A reference written by the defendant's superiors was read aloud to the court.

Fitzakerley is usually "sensible and mature" and is a "capable and reliable soldier", it was said.

Sentencing the defendant to a £300 fine, £85 costs and a £30 victim surcharge, as well as a 20-month driving ban, magistrate Glen O'Hara told Fitzakerley he had learned a "salutory lesson".

"It's not a great situation for a man such as you to be found in," he said.

"It is fortunate you didn't harm anybody else."