A DRUG driver who was 16-times over the legal limit when he caused a crash in Kilwinning has avoided jail.

Alan Petrie left his friend with a fractured spine, and in hospital over the festive period, following the incident on Christmas Eve last year.

During an earlier court appearance, the 39-year-old pleaded guilty to a pair of charges in relation to the matter, which took place on an unclassified single carriageway road between the town's Smithstone Terrace and Dalgarven.

It was previously explained that police became aware of the crash when a member of the public made a 999 call in relation to a single-vehicle crash.

When officers arrived at the scene they found a Ford car stuck in a field and they established that the driver had failed to navigate a bend and drove through a gate into the area.

Both ambulance and fire crews were already present and paramedics were checking over the driver.

The vehicle's frontside passenger was being removed from the car by the fire service and he was later taken to Crosshouse Hospital.

Petrie, of Clements Place in Stevenston, then identified himself as the driver to police who noted he was "unsteady and slurring his words".

Due to their concerns that he was intoxicated, officers conducted a roadside breath test and drugs swab.

While his breath sample returned a negative reading, the drugs swab was flagged as positive.

Petrie was then arrested and taken to Saltcoats police office where a blood sample was taken.

Readings showed that he had 800 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood, as well as 60 microgrammes of cocaine per litre of blood.

The legal limit of the substances is 50mcgs per litre and 10mcgs per litre respectively.

The passenger had sustained a fracture to his spine and spent two days at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock before being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, the court was told.

He was not discharged until January 15 this year and refused to provide a statement to police following the crash.

It was noted by the 39-year-old's defence solicitor Simon Brown that the pair remained "on good terms" despite the incident.

Following his previous appearance, Sheriff Colin Bissett deferred sentence to allow background reports to be prepared.

At the time, he said: “According to the narration I have heard there was a great deal of illegal drugs in your system at the time you were driving. I take a serious view of this matter and you may well receive a custodial sentence on the next occasion.”

However, when Petrie returned to the dock on Monday, October 21, he avoided a stint behind bars.

Instead, he was placed on a community payback order which will involve social work supervision and a drug treatment requirement over a period of 18 months.

He was also ordered to remain within his home address between the hours of 7pm-7am each day for the next nine months.

Petrie was also disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a total of six years.