Video: Stage star Darren Day admits drink-drive charge

SOUTH Yorkshire-based entertainer Darren Day today admitted charges of drink-driving and failing to stop after an accident.

The 41-year-old had 58 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath on the day of the accident in Edinburgh's West End last month. The legal limit is 35.

But his pleas of not guilty to three other charges, including an allegation that he drove without due care and attention in the December 18 incident, were accepted by the Crown.

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Sentence was deferred until next month at Edinburgh Sheriff Court when he faces trial on one charge of possessing an offensive weapon called a kubotan.

A motion for his vehicle to be forfeited will also be considered by the court in February.

Sheriff James Scott also disqualified the actor from holding or obtaining a driving licence in the meantime.

Day, who was starring in the Queen musical We Will Rock You in the Scottish capital, was arrested in the early hours of December 18 after an accident which damaged a lamp-post in the city's Manor Place.

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The entertainer, of Cudworth, South Yorkshire, had denied all the charges against him during two previous hearings at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and he was due to go on trial tomorrow.

But during a procedural hearing today, solicitor Robert Frazer told the court his client would plead guilty to two of the charges he faced.

Day, who wore a light grey suit and dark shirt for his court appearance, admitted one charge of failing to stop at the scene of the accident.

He further pleaded guilty to driving in Manor Place, Balfour Street and other roads in Edinburgh while over the drink-drive limit.

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His pleas of not guilty to allegations that he drove without due care and attention, failed to report the accident to police and failed to co-operate with a preliminary breath test were accepted by prosecutors.

Day also denied possessing an offensive weapon, namely a kubotan, but the plea was not accepted by prosecutors at this stage. Trial on that charge was fixed for February 18, with a procedural hearing set for February 10.

Sentencing on the two charges he admitted was formally deferred to the next hearing.

The court will also decide at a later date whether his car should be taken away from him permanently.

Day spoke briefly to reporters as he left court but said he could not comment on the case at this stage.

He said: "The show went great. I love Edinburgh."