A man has been fined and banned from the road after being caught behind the wheel while almost three-and-a-half times the limit.
Rory Eardley was sitting in the driver’s seat of his car on Diamond Street in the city centre with the engine running when cops came across him.
And after they smelled alcohol on his breath, the 22-year-old failed a roadside breath test.
Fiscal depute Jade Wong told Aberdeen Sheriff Court police found Eardley in the parked vehicle with the engine running and lights on just before 4am.
Eardley, whose address was given in court papers as Woodburn Avenue, Aberdeen, pled guilty to being in charge of a vehicle with 76 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath on September 14.
The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
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Defence agent Andrew Ormiston described it as a “matter of great regret” for his client.
He said Eardley had driven into town and gone on a night out with friends.
The solicitor added: “His intention was to get home via taxi.
“He went to the taxi rank and it was empty.
“He went to his vehicle to charge his phone and order a taxi.”
He added: “He’s otherwise a gentleman of good character.”
Sheriff Ian Anderson disqualified Eardley from driving for a year and ordered him to pay a fine of £300 over the matter.