A Moray motorist has been banned from the road after being caught more than six times the drink-drive limit.
Irene Sheils claimed she thought she had “slept off” the alcohol she consumed the night before by the time she was stopped by police at 9.30am on Sunday, July 14.
Officers had received a tip-off that the 53-year-old may have been driving her Volkswagen while over the limit..
Breath tests provided by Sheils an hour later found that she had 152 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 mililitres of breath – when the legal limit is 22mcg.
She later admitted drink-driving.
Her solicitor Stephen Carty told Elgin Sheriff Court that his client was experiencing several troubles, including ill health.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov said she was concerned that Sheils told social workers she thought she had “slept off” the large quantity of alcohol.
Mr Carty said: “The excessive amount of alcohol affected her judgment at the time.”
He added: “It’s a very high reading that we are dealing with. Miss Sheils appreciates the gravity of that and has accepted full responsibility.”
Sheils, of St Margaret’s Crescent, Lossiemouth, was sentenced to 190 hours of unpaid work, placed under supervision for 12 months and disqualified from driving for 27 months.
An application for her to forfeit her car was refused.
