A north-east man was arrested for drink-driving after agreeing to pick up his friend from a night out – when he was more than three times the alcohol limit himself.
Bruce Cruickshank, of Anderson Terrace in Ellon, had been out drinking on Friday, February 21, before returning home at about 11pm and going to sleep.
However, he was persuaded to jump into his Mini Cooper about two hours later when his friend called and asked for a lift.
The 24-year-old was pulled over by police for driving along Union Street without his lights on, and he later admitted a drink-driving charge.
Cruickshank was banned from the road for more than a year when he appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
Fiscal depute, Susan Love, said: “When he was stopped, police asked him to take a roadside breath test and he was found to be over the limit.
“The accused provided a reading of 75 migrogrammes with the legal limit being 22.”
To this he replied “I can only apologise”, the court heard.
Defence solicitor, Laura Gracie, said that, on the night in question, her client had been out for a few drinks and had come home at around 11pm before nodding off.
The court heard that he was then contacted by a friend who needed a lift home – and he had taken the decision that, because he had been to sleep, he would be legally safe to drive.
Sheriff William Summers said: “Anyone pleading guilty must realise the inevitability of of disqualification, because of the danger to other people’s lives and your own.”
Cruickshank was disqualified from driving for 14 months and fined £600, with a surcharge of £40.