A 45-year-old groundworker was fined £500 and banned from driving for nine months after admitting his third drink drive related offence.
Peter Drummond of Craigton Avenue, Inverness, pleaded guilty at Inverness Sheriff Court to being drunk in charge of his vehicle in Wyvis Place on March 27 last year.
A breath test showed he was four times the legal limit.
Fiscal depute Robert Weir said members of the public reported a vehicle crashing into a fence on the street.
“Police were called and Drummond was found standing next to the vehicle.”
Defending, Rory Gowans said his client had two similar convictions in 2004 and 2012, the last one resulting in a 40 month driving ban which had only recently ended.
He added: “The vehicle was being driven by a workmate and crashed it into a hedge. The driver left the scene and my client, who was a passenger, then moved into the driver’s seat and tried to reverse it.
“The keys were in the ignition so he was in charge of it.”