Man gets three year road ban

Minutes after being warned by police not to drive his car, a drunken Perthshire man was seen behind the wheel of his Seat estate.

John Miller, 39, of Sydney Crescent, Auchterarder, had no lights on his vehicle as he drove out of a High Street car park.

He was quickly stopped by officers and later tests showed he had been driving with more than three times the legal alcohol limit.

The accused, who had a previous conviction for a similar offence within the past 10 years, was banned for three years when he appeared for sentence at Perth Sheriff Court this week.

He also had a Community Payback Order imposed and will have to attend the Perth Drink/Driving Project.

In addition, he will be restricted to his home from 7pm-7am for the next five months.

He admitted driving in the Lang Toon’s High Street on September 22 with 72 microgrammes of alcohol on his breath.

The maximum allowed is 22 microgrammes.

Not guilty pleas were accepted to further charges of failing to stop for police and failing to co-operate with a preliminary breath test.

Depute fiscal Claire Kennedy said that police received a call from a member of the public shortly after 10pm that the accused was driving a vehicle at“high speed”- and under the influence of alcohol - in Auchterarder.

“At 10.10pm, a further call was received stating that the accused had left his home address and was again driving under the influence of alcohol.”

Police officers traced the accused’s vehicle in the car park, parked and unattended.

Just before midnight, the same officers went there after hearing shouting and saw the accused and another person.

Both appeared to be“heavily under the influence of alcohol.”

The fiscal added:“He was warned by a police constable not to drive the vehicle as he was under the influence.”

But they had suspicions he would drive - and kept watch.

About 12.40am, the same constables observed his vehicle, which had no lights, exiting the car park.

A solicitor for Miller said the accused had“mental health and other issues” which would benefit from supervision.

He had an“unenviable record”but had stayed out of trouble, with one exception, for a number of years.

Describing the accused’s behaviour as“an act of crass stupidity,”Sheriff Wood imposed the Community Payback and Restriction of Liberty Orders as a direct alternative to a prison sentence.

The driving ban was backdated to September 22 following his initial court appearance.