A lorry driver who swigged from a bottle of vodka before getting behind the wheel of his HGV has been banned from the road.
Ross Byiers, who has since lost his job, was reported to police after a colleague in the passenger seat messaged a friend to raise concerns.
The offence happened at Station Square in Lumphanan.
When officers traced the trucker at 9.40am on Friday, July 27, he was found to be more than four times the legal alcohol limit.
Fiscal Katie Murray yesterday told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that police later discovered a bottle of Glens vodka in the driver’s rucksack.
She said: “The front seat passenger being driven by the accused contacted a relative to express concern that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.”
The 49-year-old admitted a charge of driving after drinking so much that he had 97 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – more than quadruple the legal limit of 22mcg.
Byiers, who lived on Esslemont Avenue in Aberdeen at the time of the offence, has since moved to Mosside Brae in Nairn to “make a fresh start”.
Defence agent Gregor Kelly said Byiers had admitted he has a problem with alcohol and sought help with it.
He added: “My client has been a driver since 1987 and a a HGV driver since 1996 but this is his first conviction for drink driving.
“He had a long term position working with BT as a cabler but when he lost that job he became depressed, struggled to cope, and turned to alcohol.
“He accepts that he had drunk some alcohol prior to starting his shift that day, and understands it is a serious matter.”
Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill referenced the “extremely high reading” but praised the accused for seeking help with his drinking problem.
She told Byiers: “This is your first conviction for drink driving but I have to consider public safety and the public interest.”
Sheriff Gill fined the accused £600 and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.