Former Manchester United star Brandon Williams cut a relieved figure at Chester crown court, having had plenty of time to process the grim reality of what could have lied ahead.
Williams was handed a 14-month suspended sentence on Thursday for dangerous driving after ploughing into a central reservation, just moments after he was filmed 'with a balloon in his mouth' in August 2023.
Less than a year after he was released by United following the expiry of his £65,000 a week contract, a verdict that Judge Eric Lamb described as 'deliberate disregard' completes an extraordinary fall from grace for Williams.