A farmhand who had “a few beers” at work to celebrate Christmas has been banned from driving after crashing his car on the way home.
Andrzej Osuchowski was more than double the legal alcohol limit when he ploughed into a parked car on Laurencekirk High Street at 5.45pm on Wednesday, December 27.
When he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday, the 54-year-old admitted driving his blue Seat Altea Estate after drinking.
A breath test showed he had 46 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath, when the limit is 22mcg.
Fiscal Kelly Mitchell said officers were called after Laurencekirk residents heard a “loud bang” then noticed that the accused had crashed into another vehicle and forced it onto the pavement.
She added: “His vehicle was also damaged, and witnesses described the accused being unsteady on his feet when he left his car.
“They also heard him mention that he had had a few drinks.”
The court heard that Osuchowski, who lives on King Street in Montrose, had been working on the day in question.
His lawyer, Laura Gracie, insisted that he would “never usually consume alcohol at work” but said that he and his colleagues had decided to mark the festive season with a drink.
“He had an amount of beer in the afternoon, but thought he would be OK to drive”, she added.
Sheriff Mungo Bovey referenced Osuchowski having a previous conviction for drink-driving as he fined him £600 and banned him from driving for 16 months.