Chelsea footballer Danny Drinkwater has apologised today for the 'huge mistake' of drink-driving after he was banned from the roads for 20 months following a crash near his home last month.
The 29-year-old midfielder, who has three England caps, was arrested shortly after 12.30am on April 8 after he ploughed his £125,000 Range Rover into a wall near his home in Cheshire after earlier drinking at a 'chav-themed' charity party.
Drinkwater was slapped with the ban at Stockport Magistrates' Court this morning along with 70 hours of unpaid work.
After the hearing Drinkwater, who earns around £100,000-a-week, said he had 'learned a valuable lesson' and wanted to make up for the mistake by 'giving back to the community'.
He said: 'On the early morning of Monday, April 8, 2019, I made an error in judgement and a huge mistake in deciding to drive whilst over the legal limit.
'I can't apologise enough for my actions and have learnt a valuable lesson.
'I feel today I have been treated very fairly and will accept the consequences of my actions.
'I am keen to do the community service ordered and give something back.'
He was also given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and an £85 victim surcharge.
Drinkwater, who had two women passengers in the car, caused £50,000 damage to his vehicle and suffered a graze to his forehead.
He gave a reading of 87 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, with the legal limit being 35 microgrammes.
The crash left debris scattered across a country road while a fence was also flattened.