David Elwyn Morris, 49, who appeared from custody, also pleaded guilty to driving while over the alcohol limit, using someone’s car without permission, and driving while uninsured and without a licence. He also admitted a charge of disorderly behaviour from a later date.
The driving incident occurred after Morris had been to visit his former partner, Crown Advocate Chris Dunford told the court.
They had been separated for some time but had remained in contact.
On this occasion Morris had taken a taxi to the other man’s house in Mount Row, St Peter Port. When he arrived, the man pretended to be out.
Morris got into the man’s car, which was parked in the drive and for which he had keys, since he had bought it originally and had driven it regularly. At that time Morris’ ex-partner was the registered keeper.
Morris drove off towards Town, hitting a bollard at the filter at the top of Prince Albert Road before turning into the road and heading down the hill.
He failed to make the sharp left turn near the top and drove straight across the road, crashing into a car parked in a private drive.
The occupants of the house called the police and Morris was given a breath test, which he failed.
He told officers that he had planned to kill himself by driving over the cliffs and that he thought he had driven at about 70-80mph.
He was later taken to hospital to be checked for injuries, and a blood test was taken. That gave a blood alcohol content reading of 238mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood, three times the legal limit.
The disorderly behaviour charge came about when Morris was arrested for a breach of his bail some time after the crash. As he was being placed into a police vehicle he swore several times and so was arrested for behaving in a disorderly manner.
Morris had a previous conviction for drink-driving for which he had been jailed for eight weeks. He needed to re-take his test before driving again.
Advocate Sam Maindonald, defending, said Morris and the other man had been in a loving, committed relationship and had bought a house together, but things changed after Morris suffered significant injuries in a cliff fall. His injuries meant he was no longer able to work and sustain his previous lifestyle. He started to drink heavily and the relationship broke down.
Morris wanted her to offer his apologies for what had happened and took full responsibility for his conduct.
Judge Gary Perry said that Morris’ actions had been self-centred, and he believed the claim that he was going to kill himself had been more of a cry for help.
Because Morris had been in custody for some time, an immediate custodial sentence was not imposed, and he was sentenced to a total of six months, suspended for two years.
He was also banned from driving for a total of six years. A two-year domestic abuse prevention order was also made, meaning Morris must not contact his former partner during that time, other than through an advocate.
