Hunter in trouble once more

A Waipukurau man who in 2009 accidentally shot a hunting companion on the opening weekend of the duck-shooting season has again come unstuck on the season's first day.

Samuel Michael Riddell, 23, admitted a charge of drink-driving after his brother fell from the back of his quad bike after a day's duck shooting on May 7.

He followed an ambulance carrying his brother until a sharp corner tipped a chilly-bin from his bike, smashing several bottles of alcohol.

A police blood test found he had 111mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal adult limit is 80mg.

In 2009, a judge ordered Riddell and an associate to pay $5000 reparation to a hunting companion who permanently lost sight in one eye after the two fired simultaneously at a wounded duck from their maimai in Waipukurau.

In the Waipukurau District Court this time, he was sentenced to 90 hours' community work and disqualified for six months.