Drinks- driver was five-times the limit

A tiff with a girlfriend led a Bridge of Allan man to be arrested for drink driving, Stirling Sheriff Court heard this week.

Mark Davidson, 42, was almost five times over the limit when police found him asleep behind the wheel of his vehicle, with the engine still running and the windscreen wipers going.

Defence solicitor Stan Quirk said Davidson had “planned to see a lady friend” and had parked his car for the night at her address but “this arrangement took a turn for the worse”.

Depute fiscal Ann Orr told the court that a motorist spotted Davidson driving erratically across the level crossing at Cornton Road just after 10pm on September 25.

The driver followed him and watched Davidson reverse into a parking space on Allanvale Road, hitting the kerb, before turning off his lights.

Police were contacted and arrived to find Davidson asleep, with his seatbelt still on, his keys in the ignition and his engine and windscreen wipers still going.

A breath test found he had 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.

Mr Quirk, defending, said the incident had been a oneoff and added: “He decided to drive then thought the better of it. He regretted the folly of his actions and then stopped.”

Sheriff William Gilchrist said: “The concern that the court has is that this was an extremely high alcohol level, which would entitle the consideration of a custodial sentence.

“If you had any previous convictions that is almost certainly what the court would do.”

He sentenced Davidson, of Inverallan Drive, to a community payback order with 100 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within six months, and disqualified him from driving for two years. The ban could be reduced by six months if Davidson completes a rehabilitation programme.