A north-east repeat drink-driver who was caught almost eight times the alcohol limit has been banned from the road for more than two-and-a-half years.
Andrew Webster, 64, was caught drink-driving twice in the space of six months and was warned by Sheriff Andrew Miller he was at “tremendous risk of being sent to prison”.
But yesterday Webster was handed 225 hours of unpaid work as an alternative to custody along with a 31-month driving ban.
Depute fiscal Anna Chisholm previously said one incident happened at around 8pm on May 2 on Craigs Road, Ellon, when Webster’s car was spotted driving erratically.
She said a witness described it as “swerving all over the road and mounting the kerb”.
When officers attended, Webster was still driving the car.
He previously pled guilty to driving with 171 microgrammes (mcg) of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
And Webster also previously pled guilty to driving with 110mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath at Tesco car park on Castle Road in Ellon on November 13.
Yesterday his solicitor Stuart Beveridge said Webster’s problem with alcohol had “spiralled out of control in the last few years”, but added he had “taken steps to address his alcohol problems”.
He said: “The drink problem is at such a stage he’s been advised not to stop drinking at this point as this is likely to cause him problems.”
In sentencing Webster, of Tarves, Sheriff Miller also granted a crown motion for the forfeiture of his car which he was driving in both offences.
He said the forfeiture was “in the interests of protecting the public”.
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