A ‘terminally ill’ pensioner banned from the roads for life avoided jail today despite driving after downing half a pint and four whiskies.
Hugh Thomson drove to a village pub after taking the keys to his carer’s taxpayer-funded car used to taxi him around.
In less than an hour the bar staff watched him down an intoxicating cocktail of beer and spirits before he got back behind the wheel.
Concerned residents tried to stop him by grabbing the keys out the ignition but he was adamant that he was okay to drive.
When police caught up with him they found that he was more than four times the legal drink drive limit and in breach of a life-long driving ban.
Thomson appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court today where he was handed a community payback order as a direct alternative to jail and a further 10 year driving ban.
The court heard that the pensioner, who lives in Lumsden, in Aberdeenshire, was banned from driving for life when he appeared at Fort William Sheriff Court in 1997.
And Thomson’s solicitor Mike Monro said his client claims he has an unspecified “terminal illness” but has been given a car by the government in order to keep his mobility.
Mr Monro said: “The situation is that he seems to think he has a terminal illness.
“The accused seems to be someone who, despite being disqualified from driving for life, appears to be the legal owner of a car.
“Because of his infirmity he is entitled to mobility allowance – he is provided with a driver and a car at the taxpayers expense.
“Essentially he has an unofficial carer and a car to get him around.
“On this occasion the carer was on holiday and the car keys left in Mr Thompson’s house.
“He took the car keys to the car – and took the car to the village. If that wasn’t bad enough he took it to the pub.”
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard the 67-year-old drank four whiskies and half a pint of beer before driving off from the Gordon Arms Hotel in Rhynie, the next village from his own.
When police caught up to him on May 23 this year he was found to have 99 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 22 micrograms.
He also admitted a charge of driving with no license while disqualified.
Sheriff Alison Stirling imposed a further 10 year ban on driving and told him to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work in the community in a year.
The sheriff added: “With regard to your ill health, if you were a younger and fitter man you would have been given a much larger number of hours.”