A “tired” supermarket worker ended up in hospital after he swayed onto the opposite side of the road and crashed into a car coming the other way.

Michael Dickson had just completed a night shift with the supermarket giant Asda and was heading home when he smashed head on into a car driving on the opposite side of the road on the A68.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told 64-year-old Dickson and the other driver were both rushed to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary following the crash on March 2 last year but were released soon after.

The court heard Dickson was traveling southbound on the busy road near to the junction of the A720 and Salters Road in Dalkeith at around 6.30am when he “appeared to drift” into the opposite carriageway.

The vehicle driving northbound was “unable to move out the way” due to a lack of time and there was “a head-on collision” between the vehicles and the air bags in both were deployed.

A third motorist stopped to stop to help and called 999 for the police and an ambulance to attend the scene.

Dickson, of Wallace Crescent, Wallyford, was said to be in his Asda uniform at the time and the court heard he had just finished a night shift.

The court was told he said to police: “I know I was at fault, I don’t know what happened. Something caught my eye and made me flinch.”

Lawyer Matthew Berlow said his client was swayed into the roadway after “perhaps trying to avoid a pothole” and the accident had been “minor aberration”.

The lawyer added Dickson’s driving licence was “essential” to him as he is currently employed as a driver with another firm.

Sheriff Charles Gill said: “I’ve listened very carefully to what the procurator fiscal has said and also what has been said by Mr Berlow.

“I think you recognise it is fortunate that you did not cause injury to yourself or the driver of the other vehicle.

“I think you accept you were driving at a point in time when you ought not to have and were tired.”

Dickson had five penalty points placed on his driving licence and was fined a total of £190.

Dickson pleaded guilty to a charge of driving without due care and attention at the A68 on March 2 last year when he appeared at the capital court on Tuesday. (07.05)