An HGV driver who crashed his cement lorry into a tree after overtaking a tractor told police he had drank half a bottle of vodka.

Joseph Ray, who had to be cut free from the driver's seat, was banned from the road for a year after being found guilty of drink-driving.

Ray, 59, claimed he had taken a hot toddy the previous evening to counter a cold and had then drunk more after crashing into the tree at nearly 30mph.

But Perth Sheriff Court heard he was more than twice the legal limit and had a full sized bottle of vodka stored within easy reach of his driver's seat.

Ray, High Street, Aberlady, had been delivering potatoes and was on his way to deliver a shipment of cement when he lost control on an unclassified road near Dunkeld in Perthshire on May 6 last year.

The court heard he had overtaken a tractor on a twisting country road before leaving the carriageway and ploughing into a tree. Ray's legs were pinned under the steering wheel.

He said: "I had a bad cold and had taken a toddy. It was vodka. It had been in the truck a couple of weeks. I ended up battered up against a tree.

"I was in the driver's position, trapped with the steering wheel. It was quite daunting, quite frightening. It was a terrifying experience in one of those big things.

"I thought if I had a drink it would calm me down and get me settled. I thought I would have an extra few drinks to alleviate the pain.

"I had a good drink of it. I certainly had a quarter of a bottle at least. I was panicking. I had a drink to calm me down."

Ray told police who arrived at the scene that he had downed half a bottle of vodka in the minutes after the crash.

He claimed he had not been drinking beforehand in the lorry, but fiscal depute Robbie Brown said: "Everything points to the fact this is simply something he made up."

Sheriff Valerie Johnston said she did not believe Ray's version of events and told him: "Immediately reaching for vodka within a minute of the accident is not credible."

She banned him for a year and fined him £350. The court was told Ray would lose his job as a result of being disqualified.