A Moray fisherman has been allowed to keep his car despite being caught five times the drink-drive limit.
Alan Hunter, from Fochabers, was spotted by shoppers stumbling on the village’s High Street due to the amount of alcohol he had drunk.
When the 48-year-old then got behind the wheel of his Mercedes-Benz and drove off, one onlooker immediately phoned the police.
Yesterday Hunter was banned from the roads for four years when he appeared at Elgin Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov had considered seizing the fisherman’s car, which was valued at £24,000, as part of the punishment.
However, defence solicitor Grant Daglish revealed the vehicle had been bought on a five-year hire-purchase agreement earlier this year, and his client would be liable for the cost if it was confiscated.
Mr Daglish strenuously argued a possible prison sentence if Hunter offended again would act as a “sufficient deterrent”.
Police traced the Fochabers resident at his Milne Road home after being called by shoppers at 7pm on October 8.
Fiscal Alex Swain said: “A witness saw the accused coming out of a shop, saw him stumble, and formed the opinion that he was drunk.
“She saw him get into the driver’s seat of the Mercedes and passed the information to the police.”
Hunter was found to have 111mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 22mcg.
Miss Swain applied to the court for the car to be surrendered to the authorities due to the reading given to police.
However Sheriff Pasportnikov refused the application due to the terms of the hire-purchase agreement on the Mercedes.
Mr Daglish added: “Mr Hunter is aware that he would likely get a custodial sentence if he were to offend in a similar way again.”
Hunter was banned from driving for four years and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to a charge of driving while over the legal alcohol limit on High Street, Milne Road and other streets in Fochabers.
