A DRINKER on his way to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in Plymouth lied to police by saying he was not at the wheel of a car which crashed on the A38.

Nicholas Fox, 53, was over the legal alcohol limit and blamed his fiancée Michelle Barker for the accident which led to the green Ford Focus ending up on its roof on the A38 last October.

But Fox was so overcome with guilt about the lie that he later changed his story and owned up to being the driver, Exeter Crown Court was told.

Fox appeared in court for sentencing after previously admitting perverting the course of justice.

The court was told Fox, who had been a successful health and safety consultant, had fallen off the wagon after 14 years of abstinence two weeks before the crash near Newton Abbot on October 30.

Prosecutor Alexander Allsop said Fox, from Brook Lane, London, and Miss Barker were travelling to Plymouth from London to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting when the accident happened.

He said Fox had stopped along the way and bought alcohol during the drive.

When police attended the accident on the A38 near Heathfield both occupants said Miss Barker had been driving.

Barker later told police this was a lie, saying Fox had pressured her because he did not want to lose his job.

A breath test at the scene recorded Fox was over the limit.

But Leslie Smith, counsel for Fox, said it was the defendant who had wanted to tell the truth.

He said Fox had seen his life fall to pieces since the accident.

He had lost his job and split up with Miss Barker.

Fox, Mr Smith said, had suffered a breakdown and been admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

In order to get to court for the sentencing he had borrowed money from a church in London which he 'attended in desperation'.

"His life has been broken and damaged," said Mr Smith.

He said being honest was at the heart of the AA programme and that had prompted him to tell the truth.

Judge Barry Cotter QC said it was not possible to tell who had been the first person to tell police the truth about the incident.

He said the offence was so serious that a custodial sentence had been considered.

Instead he imposed a community order with a 12-month supervision requirement, a ten-day activity programme and an alcoholic treatment requirement.

"You should consider this a lenient sentence," the judge said.

"But I sincerely hope you are able to get your life back together."

He also asked Mr Smith to thank the diocese of St Catherine's for lending Fox the money to travel.