Woman was three times limit

A Perth student, pulled over by police after she was seen swerving across the road near her home, was more than three times over the legal booze limit.

Sheriff Neil Bowie told 21-year-old Shannon Welch: “This was foolishness in the extreme.

“You panicked and got into your car but you chose to drive while intoxicated, which put other road users, as well as yourself, at risk.”

The accused, of Marlee

Road, admitted driving with 69 microgrammes of alcohol on her breath on the Perth-Crieff road, near to the junction with Castle Brae, Perth, on October 3, 2020.

She was fined £400 and banned for 12 months when she appeared at Perth Sheriff Court.

But she will get her disqualification reduced by three months if she successfully completes a drink/driving rehabilitation course.

She was told that the cost of the course was around £150.

Depute fiscal Matthew Kerr said the accused was stopped about 12.30am and failed a roadside breath test.

Solicitor Paul Ralph said his client, who has a part time job, had been with friends at a party and had planned to get a taxi home.

Welch, who also receives a monthly bursary, will pay the fine at £40 a month.