THIS is the shocking moment a former Premier League star crashes his Land Rover through the wall of a Co-op, having sunk as many as 10 pints.
Dad-of-three Danny Graham, who started his footballing career with Middlesbrough FC, was nearly three times the legal limit when he drove his 4×4 on November 4, 2022.
The 37-year-old from Wynyard, County Durham, said he “can’t remember” why he got behind the wheel having drunk “up to 10 pints”.
Graham, appearing at Teesside Magistrates’ Court on Friday, pleaded guilty to drink driving.
CCTV footage has now been released showing the moment that the former striker smashed through the store front of the Co-op in the village.
The shocking smash happened just over a minute after a customer had left the shop with their dog, the court heard
Read More on Danny Graham
Footage shows the doors flying open as smashed glass and debris litter the shop floor.
Graham, who also had stints at Watford, Swansea and Blackburn Rovers, said at the hearing he had been playing golf before going to a friend’s house to have some drinks.
He has now been banned from driving for two years and given a 12-month community order in which he must carry out 180 hours unpaid work.
Graham was also handed a 90-day alcohol ban, which will be monitored by a tag that can detect even a “small glass of sherry”.
Most read in Football
He must also pay a surcharge and costs of £199.
Chairman of the bench Nigel Guerin warned him he would be jailed if he flouted the driving ban, saying: “You are a well-known person and a lot of people in Wynyard will know you.
“If you get behind the wheel of a car I’m sure someone will get in touch with the police.”
The court was told the forward was breathalysed at hospital after the crash.
He was found to have 230mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.
The shop had to close for five days and stock worth more than £5,000 was damaged – with a total loss of around £32,000.
Michael Lawson, prosecuting, said: “Luckily, no-one was injured as a result of this collision.”
The court was told Graham had never been arrested before the “unwise incident”.
Veteran striker Graham began his playing career at Middlesbrough in 2004 where he scored one goal in 15 appearances for the club.
After spells on loan at Leeds United, Darlington, Derby County and Blackpool, he signed with Carlisle in 2007.
He spent two years at the club and scored 29 goals before moving to Watford.
Graham left the club for then-Premier League side Swansea in 2011 and made 54 appearances before his three-year stint at Sunderland.
Read More on The Sun
He left the Black Cats in 2016 and spent four years with Blackburn Rovers where he netted 45 goals in 158 appearances.
Graham returned to Sunderland in 2020 before retiring from professional football a year later.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
