A gas engineer from Wallsend, Newcastle has been banned from driving after the car he was driving alerted emergency services when he crashed while drunk.

Alan McShane was over the drink-drive limit as he drove home from a night out after Newcastle United’s game against Arsenal on May 16. The crash triggered the airbags on his electric Mercedes EQC 4×4, which automatically alerted the emergency services, a court heard.

In a hearing at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, McShane, 37, pleaded guilty to driving on New Bridge Street with a blood alcohol level of 110 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath – more than

Mitigating on on behalf of McShane, Michael Henderson said he had no previous convictions and was “basically a hard-working man who, on the night in question, made a significant mistake”.

He said the qualified gas engineer worked as a senior manager for heating company which serves large organisations including Newcastle City Council.

He added that, due to a shortage of engineers, McShane had been working hard and prior to the incident “could not remember the last time he had a day off”, and had not been intending to get drunk that evening.

McShane was fined £1,500 at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court, with £230 costs, and banned from driving for 25 months, with the option to reduce the ban by 25 weeks by taking a drink-drive rehabilitation course.