A MAN has been charged with high range drink driving in Fern Bay this week.

At approximately 1.50pm on Tuesday 3 May 2022, emergency services were called to Nelson Bay Road, Fern Bay, following reports a Subaru Tribeca had hit a brick fence.

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The man had collided when attempting to negotiate a driveway of a retirement village in Fern Bay.

Officers from the Port Stephens Hunter Police District stated that the force of the collision caused both front airbags to deploy.

The impact destroyed a brick pier forming the fence line of the property, exposing electrical wires.

The driver of the vehicle, a 47-year-old man, was assessed at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics, however, he was uninjured during the incident.

Officers from Traffic and Highway Patrol Command attended, and the man was subjected to a roadside breath analysis which returned a positive result.

The man was arrested and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station where he underwent a secondary breath analysis which returned an alleged reading of 0.316 in 210 litres of breath.

The offence of high range PCA is committed by a person who drives a motor vehicle on a public road with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.150 or above.

The maximum penalty for a first offender is the recording of a criminal conviction, imprisonment for eighteen months, a fine of 30 penalty units and an automatic licence disqualification for three years.

The man was issued a Court Attendance Notice for driving with high range PCA and his NSW drivers licence was suspended.

He will appear at Raymond Terrace Local Court on Monday 20 June 2022.

By Tara CAMPBELL