A 50-year-old Hamilton Parish man was fined $1,000 after he admitted to riding his motorcycle while impaired.

Calvin Burgess, of Workmen's Lane, pleaded guilty to the offence yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Senior Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney said Burgess collided with a wall on Wellington Slip Road in St. George's on April 30.

Police responded to the scene of the accident at approximately 8 p.m. and smelled "intoxicating liquor" on Burgess' breath.

Asked by Police if he had been drinking Burgess replied: "No. I have only had one beer."

He was subsequently taken to Southside Police Station where he was formally charged with the offence.

Burgess asked Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner for leniency.

"I am very remorseful for the act that got me into this situation," he said. "But I need my transportation to take care of my elderly parents. They are both pensioners but their pensions won't carry them. I need to keep my licence to care for them so that they may continue to live the life that they are living."

Mr. Warner fined him $1,000 fine and banned him from driving for one year.