A north-east motorist caught nearly eight times the drink-drive limit has had his car seized.
Oliver Kirby, from Westhill, near Aberdeen, was warned he could have faced a prison sentence after being caught behind the wheel just days before Christmas.
Yesterday the 32-year-old was sentenced at Elgin Sheriff Court after pleading guilty to the drink-driving charge.
Sheriff Gary Aitken told the motorist the incident was a “catastrophic” error of judgement – warning him he was fortunate the consequences were not “dramatically worse”.
Breath tests done on Kirby found that he had 175micgrogrammes of alcohol in 100millilitres of breath – the legal limit is just 22mcg.
Fiscal Sharon Ralph confirmed that the Aberdeenshire driver was caught by police on Haugh Road in Elgin at 2.25pm on December 19 last year.
Defence solicitor Robert Cruickshank said: “It’s apparent that anyone driving in that way or in that condition is indicative of someone with a problem. There is an underlying difficulty there.”
Due to the high alcohol reading Sheriff Aitken ordered Kirby’s Vauxhall Corsa, which he was driving at the time, to be seized.
Mr Cruickshank said his client valued the car at about £2,000.
Sheriff Aitken warned Kirby that the exceptionally high alcohol reading could have warranted a prison sentence.
He said: “As I’m sure you appreciate yourself, this was a catastrophically poor piece of decision-making.
“You have rightly recognised to social workers that the consequences could have been dramatically worse. The reading is very high and the circumstances clearly show you have an underlying difficulty.”
Sheriff Aitken ordered Kirby, of Wellgrove Drive, to do 80 hours of unpaid work, explaining the total would have been “significantly more” if the Corsa had not been seized.
He added: “That order is a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.”
The driver was also given a 16-month driving ban and has been placed under supervision for 18 months.
