A FAMILY barrister was fined £2,000 and banned from driving for two years after he crashed a people carrier into a tree in the city centre.

Edmund Gilbert Farrell, 50, of Argyll Avenue, Hough Green, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen after refusing to take a breathalyser test.

A passer-by walking along Nicholas Street, at about 8.50pm on November 19, saw Farrell hit the kerb of the road, and a bollard before colliding with a tree.

He locked the car and walked toward Cuppin Street.

Police arrived and stopped Farrell near the Grosvenor Roundabout, stating that he smelt heavily of alcohol.

While in custody, Farrell said a mouth injury he sustained in the crash was too painful for him to use a breathalyser.

He was seen by a nurse but refused to have any treatment.

Farrell, who works in Manchester as a publicly-funded family barrister, said he had been running some errands in Chester for his family when he met some acquaintances in Got Wine.

“After drinking three white wine spritzers, which may have been stronger than he thought, he had driven the vehicle around the back of the court.

“He put his foot on what he thought was the brake pedal and hit a bollard.

“He locked it up and thought he would walk home and take matters from there”, Stephen Coupe, defending, said: “He was emotionally and physically quite battered and didn’t feel fit enough to give a specimen of breath.

“He will now have his good character blemished and the stigma of the case with regards to his profession.

Farrell was also ordered to pay £45 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.