A man has been banned from the roads after he left a pub to move his car and was caught drink-driving by police.
James Anderson, 42, was having a drink at a bar in Inverurie town centre when he decided to find a new parking spot for his car due to “inclement weather”.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard Anderson was spotted by police officers, who suspected that he’d been drinking.
When breathalysed he was found to be more than three times the drink-drive limit.
‘We did this before and I just passed’
Fiscal depute Ryan Diamond told the court that at around 1.15am on December 17 last year police were patrolling the streets of Inverurie on foot when they saw a Blue Ford being driven by Anderson towards Constitution Street.
He said: “The vehicle was stopped by the police and upon speaking to the accused they suspected him of having drunk alcohol.
“They subsequently breathalysed the accused and the test was found to have a positive reading.
“After being tested, the accused stated to the officers: ‘We did this before and I just passed’.”
Anderson gave a reading of 70 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
Anderson pleaded guilty to one charge of driving a motor vehicle while having an excess amount of alcohol in his system.
‘There were other ways he could have gone about this’
Defence agent Michael Burnett told the court that his client had been drinking at a local pub nearby and had left his car parked up on the street outside.
“However, due to the inclement weather his car was moving and he had gone to move it elsewhere,” Mr Burnett said.
“It was a very short journey and there was a reason for it, but he accepts that there were other ways he could have gone about this.”
Sheriff Margaret Hodge told Anderson she had taken into account his “lack of previous convictions”.
She disqualified Anderson, Beverly Road, Inverurie, from driving for 12 months and fined him a total of £470.
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