Bannan, 22, had an accident in his Range Rover Sport on the M1 near Watnall on October 23 whilst over the legal drink-drive limit. He fled the scene, and was arrested in a taxi office. The Scotland international, who only held a provisional licence, was fined £4,500 and banned from driving for 18 months. Despite this, the midfielder believes he has had a lucky escape. He said: "It still goes through my head now, it was a huge mistake and I regret everything I've done. It will never happen again. "As much as I regret it, I'm so lucky to be still here today. "If I hit another car and killed someone else, then there's no point in me living, really, after the things that would be going through my head. "I'm lucky to be where I am today." Bannan was speaking as the new face of the West Midlands Police 'Christmas Don't Drink and Drive Campaign', and added that he won't be tempted to repeat his mistakes this festive season. "It'll still be with me for the rest of my life in the back of my head," he said. Villa manager Alex McLeish has backed Bannan to put the incident behind him and continue his football education. McLeish said: "He's got to now totally concentrate and be totally professional and try to make himself the best he can possibly be." The former Scotland boss also looked to set the record straight over Darren Bent, who despite being injured, was pictured shopping whilst Villa were taking on Liverpool on Sunday. McLeish believes the club have moved on from the incident, but added that Bent should have remained at home for the entire duration of the match. He said: "The lad was told to stay at home and rest. "He was in here (at the club's training ground) for three or four hours on the day of the game. "I think he watched most of the game, saw that we weren't going to win it and popped out to the shops. "He was out of the house for about an hour. A massive fuss was the result of that. "If he's guilty of anything, then he's guilty of that - he should have stayed for the last 10 minutes."
