TV star Amabile gets banned for drink-driving
Home guru nearly 4 times over limit
A TV star has been banned from driving after crashing his £40,000 Jaguar while nearly four times over the drink-drive limit.
Interior designer John Amabile was fined and ordered to attend a rehab course after racking up his second drink-driving conviction.
The 56-year-old – once voted the 10th most eligible bachelor in Scotland – lost control of his car and crashed into a traffic island in Paisley last summer.
Police discovered he had 86microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath – nearly four times the 22mcg limit.
Amabile – who has appeared on Better Homes, GMTV, 60 Minute Makeover and The Hour – appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court on Tuesday.
He was charged with driving without due care and attention by losing control of his Jaguar E-PACE, which costs about £40,000, in Arkleston Road, at the junction with Endrick Drive in July 2020.
Amabile, who was brought up in Paisley but now lives in the Glasgow suburb of Milngavie, was also charged with driving while over the drink-drive limit.
The designer, who has also appeared on TV shows in America, pled guilty to the drink-driving charge and his not guilty plea was accepted to the careless driving charge. He was fined £450, reduced from £600 as he admitted his guilt, and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £20. He offered to pay the fine at a rate of £150 per month.
He was also banned from driving for 21 months, reduced from 25 months due to his guilty plea, and told to attend a drink-driving rehab course.
Two references in support of Amabile were handed over by his solicitor to the judge.
He was voted the 10th most eligible bachelor in Scotland in 2002 – the same year he racked up his first conviction for drink-driving.
He was fined £250 and banned from driving for one year after being convicted at Glasgow Sheriff Court.