Wednesday 6 July 2022 03:51 AM Silverchair's Daniel Johns is handed 10 month JAIL sentence over high-range ... trends now Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns has been sentenced to 10 months in jail to be served in the community over a high-range drink-driving car crash. The rock star, 43, faced Raymond Terrace Local Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to high-range drink driving in the NSW Hunter region at about 10.30pm on March 23. His lawyer Bryan Wrench said his client was at pains to show the court how serious he had taken the charge since entering rehab and his discharge in June, remaining abstinent from alcohol. Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns has been sentenced to 10 months in jail to be served in the community over a high-range drink-driving car crash Leading up to the incident Johns was soon to release his new music album that triggered the mental health issues he has faced since his meteoric rise to fame as a teenager, the court was told. Mr Wrench said Johns was a very reclusive person and had been vilified by the media before he was charged with drink driving. His struggle with anorexia in his early 20s led to reactive arthritis that flares up under stress, and he had been self-medicating using alcohol. "While in rehab his album hit number one but what needs to hit number one is his mental health," Mr Wrench said. After his partner took him to a holiday retreat to "escape the stressors" Johns "simply got in the car and simply drove to get away". Johns had driven his grey SUV out of a service station on the Pacific Highway at North Arm Cove and headed north before crashing into a van. Both vehicles ended up on a nature strip. Johns was breathalysed and returned a blood alcohol level of 0.157. The van driver, 51, and his female passenger, 55, were treated at the scene and the woman was taken to hospital. Johns looked gaunt in a baggy grey suit and black shoes as he walked alongside his lawyer under an umbrella Magistrate Ian Cheetham said the charge was serious but Johns' background and circumstances were exceptional in handing him a 10-month intensive corrections order. He was ordered to continue his medical treatment and has been disqualified from driving for seven months. Jones appeared pale and gaunt when he arrived at court to face sentencing. He dressed in a baggy grey suit as he walked alongside his high-profile lawyer Wrench outside the Raymond Terrace Local Court near Newcastle - and appeared to be carrying a vape in his pocket. His lawyer entered a guilty plea on Johns' behalf at Raymond Terrace Local Court on April 11, where the magistrate warned the singer could face jail time. In a phone call transcribed from rehab and posted to his Instagram account, Johns addressed his relationship with alcohol and also offered an apology. 'My drinking had become a bigger problem than I even realised, and how I have used it to help numb a range of deeper psychological issues that I've been living with since childhood,' he said. 'Some of these issues you know, and a lot cut much deeper. Alcohol is not medicine. I should never have treated it like it was. I feel like a complete f**k-up and I'm sorry. 'I take full responsibility for my actions on the evening of March 23rd, I am deeply remorseful and I am working every day to make amends. I am handling these matters professionally and privately. 'For legal reasons, I am unable to talk specifics on social media or elsewhere until after June 22nd.' Johns was pulled over on the Pacific Highway at North Arm Cove on March 23 and recorded a blood-alcohol reading of more than three times the legal limit Johns rocked an undercut and wispy mullet as her turned up to court Shortly after the accident in March, Johns posted that he had been suffering from 'panic attacks' and the accident occurred after becoming 'lost' on the road. 'As you know, my mental health is a work in progress. I have good days and bad days but it's something I always have to manage,' he said. 'Over the last week I began to experience panic attacks. Last night I got lost while driving and I was in an accident. I am OK, everyone is OK. 'Alongside my therapy, I've been self-medicating with alcohol to deal with my anxiety and depression. I know this is no sustainable or healthy. 'I have to step back now as I'm self-admitting to a rehabilitation centre and I don't know how long I'll be there. Appreciate your love and support as always.' Johns (pictured with lawyer Bryan Wrench) checked into rehab in April to address drinking and mental health issues He recorded a blood-alcohol reading more than three times the legal limit after a car crash near Newcastle last month The road crash came just weeks after Daniel slammed his Silverchair 'colleagues' for allegedly not supporting him when he was gravely ill in 2002. The singer and guitarist revealed in a Facebook post in March that he'd been diagnosed with reactive arthritis, an inflammation of the joints that left him in crippling pain, when the band was launching their fourth album Diorama. Johns, who also was being treated for anxiety and anorexia at the time, claimed he did not receive the help he needed, and felt his band was 'more of a business than family'. The musician recently released his second solo album FutureNever, and told fans he will promote the record while healing. In a phone call transcribed from rehab and posted to his Instagram account, Johns addressed his relationship with alcohol and also offered an apology All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility