An Aberdeen man has been banned from the road for two years after crashing in a car park while nearly six times the drink-drive limit.
The city’s sheriff court heard yesterday that David Clark had been trying to make sure his Ford Focus was in its “usual spot” near his Danestone home when the 64-year-old collided with another vehicle on May 27.
His solicitor, Michael Burnett, said: “He normally parks in a particular space and was moving from one place in the car park to another.
“He is pleading guilty but this is a far cry from taking the car on the road.”
Fiscal depute Lynne Macvicor told the court that witnesses had called police around 9pm after noticing Clark was unsteady on his feet.
A test later revealed he had 131 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
But Mr Burnett argued that the reading officers took at his home was “artificial” because his client had been drinking after the crash as well.
“This is a man with a significant drinking problem,” he added.
Sheriff Mungo Bovey said it was a “very serious” matter, which called for a “serious disqualification”.
He placed Clark, of Fairview Drive, under supervision for two years, and ordered him to carry out 140 hours of unpaid work.
The length of the driving ban imposed was shortened to two years because of Clark’s early guilty plea.