A drink-driving carpet cleaning boss was caught more than five times the legal alcohol limit – almost SEVEN hours after he claimed to have had his last drink.
Concerned neighbours called the police after spotting Paul Cowie, who they knew had been drinking, get in his white Ford Transit work van and drive off towards Inverurie.
When officers caught up with him, they found the 53-year-old stinking of alcohol, with glazed eyes, slurred speech and slow reactions.
A formal breath test at 10.40pm found him to be more than five times the limit, despite his claims that he stopped drinking at 4pm that day.
Fiscal depute Peter Finnon told Aberdeen Sheriff Court police received the call from Cowie’s neighbours around 9.25pm on June 8.
Unpaid work
They traced him 15 minutes later on Blackhall Road turning onto Nether Davah Way in Inverurie.
Officers activated their siren and Cowie stopped for them.
On approaching Cowie, they noted the “strong” smell of alcohol, slurred speech, glazed eyes and that his reactions were slow.
He disclosed to them that he had been drinking throughout the day and that his last drink was at 4pm.
After failing a roadside breath test, Cowie was arrested and taken to the police station where the formal reading was given at 10.40pm.
Cowie, of Pitcaple, pled guilty to driving with 117 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is just 22 microgrammes.
Sheriff Sean Lynch handed Cowie 100 hours of unpaid work.
He also disqualified Cowie – who owns Cowie Carpet Cleaning, which recently advertised for a driver to join the company – from driving for three years.
Defence agent Marianne Milligan asked for her client to be made eligible for a drink-driving rehabilitation course which would reduce the length of the ban and the sheriff agreed.
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