An Aberdeenshire man was caught drink-driving after police staff smelled alcohol when he tried to apply for a gun licence.
Donald MacLean thought he would be “fine” to drive after drinking vodka and coke at a family party the night before.
He drove from Portlethen to Aberdeen to apply for a gun licence but was arrested a few hundred yards away after police staff watched him get into his car after smelling alcohol on him.
The father-of-two was found to be more than double the legal limit with 81 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millimetres of breath when officers carried out a breath test in Broad Street on April 13 at around 1.30pm.
He admitted the offence when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
The 35-year-old drove to Aberdeen from his home at 4 Auchlee Wynd, Portlethen, to get a gun licence application from the police headquarters in Queen Street.
Fiscal depute Sally McAuley said police staff thought MacLean had “smelled of alcohol” and that his 15-year-old son was in the vehicle with him.
Representing MacLean, solicitor Gregor Kelly, said: “He made a gross error of judgment.
“On April 12, there was a family celebration and he consumed a fair amount of vodka mixed with coke.
“He thought, mistakenly, that he was fine to drive and that the alcohol would have metabolised from his system.”
He added that MacLean had been drinking until 3am but decided to drive after having a “good breakfast”.
MacLean, 35, is responsible for most of the glazing work in the city’s Marischal College and the new HMP Grampian in Peterhead.
Sheriff Kenneth Stewart said: “You must have had a huge amount of alcohol the night before.”
MacLean was banned from driving for two years and fined £500.