A tradesman was caught behind the wheel while six times the drink-drive limit – after police spotted him crawling along with his hazards on.
Officers originally stopped Callum Stewart, from Lhanbryde, to ask if he needed help.
But after they started speaking to the 21-year-old, they realised he was under the influence of alcohol.
At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, Stewart was told he was the “hazard” on the road and disqualified for four years.
The court heard he had travelled through to Hopeman to price up a job for a friend.
The duo then went to the pub and Stewart decided to stay over and drive back the next day.
However, after they started drinking Stewart got a call from his sister reporting that her dog had gone missing which prompted him to get behind the wheel.
Defence solicitor Matthew O’Neill stressed the driver had not even managed to make it out of the village before he was stopped by the police on Forsyth Street.
He added: “He had consumed a significant amount of alcohol and then foolishly thought he should go home to the family to offer assistance to help locate the dog.
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“I’m not sure what assistance he thought he was going to be able to provide given the condition that he was in.
“He had been using alcohol on a daily basis. He realises he can’t continue going on like this because others will suffer and he will suffer himself.”
The offence happened on October 6.
Fiscal Roderick Urquhart described the motorist driving slowly along the coast road with his hazard lights on.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov said: “He was indeed a hazard.”
Stewart, of Innes Court, Lhanbryde, admitted a charge of drink-driving. He had 141 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath in his system – the legal limit is 25mcg.
He was banned from driving for four years, was given a 145-day curfew and put on a 12-month supervision order. His car was also seized.
