Police attending a crash at a notorious Aberdeen bottleneck roundabout arrested a man they found drunk behind the wheel after arriving on the scene.
Officers were called to the Haudagain roundabout on Great Northern Road at 4pm on Sunday, July 22, following a collision.
Though he was not involved in the incident, 60-year-old Michael Gilbert came to the attention of officers as they had reason to suspect he was in no condition to drive his Vauxhall Antara Estate.
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Gilbert, who was banned from the road for three years when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, had blood taken and was found to have 174 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood – more than three times the legal limit of 50mg.
Fiscal depute Anne Macdonald, said: “The accused came to the notice of the police after a minor road accident in the area of the roundabout.”
Gilbert’s lawyer, Chris Maitland, said his client had a longstanding alcohol addiction which had caused him to lose his job as a mechanic.
Mr Maitland added: “He accepts full responsibility for this, and over the past week or so he has cut himself off from alcohol completely.
“He has no intention of getting back behind the wheel any time in the near future.”
The court heard that the accused, of Cummings Park Circle in Aberdeen, had a similar previous conviction.
Sheriff William Summers described the offence as a “serious” one, and also ordered Gilbert to perform 150 hours of unpaid work in the next year.
