AN "appalling" driver who hit a car on the A92 and then crashed into the central reservation before driving off has landed a hefty fine.

Imran Dean said he was rushing through traffic from Edinburgh to go and pick his daughter up from nursery at the time.

Dean, 39, of Timmons Park, Lochgelly, previously admitted that on November 14, 2017, on the A92, Dunfermline to Kirkcaldy, at Cowdenbeath junction, he did drive a motor vehicle after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his breath was 30 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath which exceed the prescribed limit, namely 22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Also, he did drive a mechanically propelled vehicle and did drive at excessive speed, undertake a motor car, collide with it and strike the central reservation, and an accident having then and there occurred owing to the presence of his motor vehicle, whereby another car and barrier was damaged and he did not give his name and address, did fail to report said accident at a police station or a constable as soon as reasonably practical.

Dunfermline Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday that the incident happened around 14.45 on the east bound carriage of the A92.

The accused was undertaking another vehicle while another car overtook two vehicles in the left lane and he also swerved between cars.

Other drivers said Dean was travelling much faster than other people on the road with one witness saying she had been driving at 70mph.

Dean shortly moved back to the right-hand lane and struck the front near side of a Mondeo.

He lost control of the car and ended up hitting the central reservation of the road with his car spinning several times.

People stopped to help him, but he reversed off. The car was highly damaged and was omitting a blue smoke.

Police later then received a phone call about a highly damaged vehicle that was parked at an address in Lochgelly.

The Mondeo driver had obtained part of Dean's registration and that was matched with the damaged car when police attended at 16.20.

Officers could smell alcohol on him and he was detained.

He told police: "I never had a drink when I was involved in the accident, it was after I picked up my daughter from nursery".

Another vehicle at the scene of the incident also had damage to its front rear side and a further car had extensive damage and scrapping to both sides.

Defence solicitor, Mr Jackson, said his client had been drinking into the early hours the night before and accepted that he was still under the effects of alcohol.

He explained: "Mr Dean tells me that the traffic was going at various speeds along the road and he was in a rush to pick up his daughter after coming from his work in Edinburgh.

"He clearly did not exercise judgement.

"He much regrets this and he lost his job as a result at the time.

"He has subsequently found more work, but it is likely that he will lose that depending the outcome of his sentence."

The Court heard that Dean had previous convictions for driving offences.

Sheriff Charles Macnair said: "This was an appalling piece of driving when you had too much alcohol in your system.

"If your reading was higher in my view you would have been serving a custodial sentence”.

Dean was fined a total of £1170 and was disqualified from driving for 22 months.