Wayne Rooney admits he made a mistake over his drink-driving charge, but the Everton star says his community service in a garden centre is “relaxing”.
Rooney was ordered to complete 120 hours unpaid work after admitting being nearly three times the legal limit while at the wheel of a woman’s car.
The former England and Manchester United captain was also banned from driving for two years.
Rooney regrets a mistake he said hurt his children, but he has found redemption in his community service.
“I knew straight away I had made a stupid mistake, and I have to move on,” Rooney told TalkSport.
“It is not nice, obviously. I’ve got children and it’s not nice for them to see that, and I try and move on and learn from it, which I feel I am doing.”
Rooney said he is about halfway through his community service, adding: “I’ve really enjoyed doing it. It’s been working with adults with learning difficulties in a garden centre.
“Especially around this period, this Christmas period, going in and helping them with different things they’re making over Christmas.
“I think it’s a place now where I’ll certainly keep in touch with when obviously my hours are over.
“Seeing what they do, obviously they need support in what they do, there are a lot of adults with learning difficulties who just need a little bit of help and a bit of guidance and someone there to help them.
Asked if he gets any “stick”, Rooney said: “No, not at all. We actually don’t even talk about football in there.
“It’s a refreshing place to go and it’s relaxing, you’re working with people, doing different things which I wouldn’t have done if I didn’t go there, so it’s been great going there.”
The 32-year-old pleaded guilty to drink driving at Stockport Magistrates’ Court following an incident in the early hours of September 1.
Rooney, a married father of three children, had reportedly left a cocktail bar in Cheshire in a taxi with 29-year-old Laura Simpson, and later went on to take the wheel of her vehicle.
Police on mobile patrol stopped Rooney after they noticed a rear tail-light out.
After failing a roadside breath test, Rooney was taken to a local police station where he produced a reading of 104 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit in England and Wales being 35 microgrammes.
AFP