An oil worker who was caught driving while nearly five times the legal limit was trying to buy more alcohol, Inverness Sheriff Court heard yesterday.
Ballast control operator Farquhar Grant, 36, had his £10,000 Volkswagen Golf confiscated after he admitted his second drink driving offence since 2000.
Grant, who earns £68,000 a year, was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid community work and banned from driving for four years by Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood.
The court heard that on July 13 this year, two shoppers at the Tesco store in Holm Mills saw Grant, of 15 Holm Dell Drive, Inverness, get into his car and drive off, zig-zagging his way down the road.
Fiscal depute Fraser Matheson said: “They were concerned, phoned the police and followed him until he stopped at Balloan Road in the city.
“Police officers arrived shortly afterwards and arrested Grant.”
Defence agent Rory Gowans said his client was not opposing the forfeiture of his car, which is worth around £10,000. This indicate a degree of contrition, he said.
Mr Gowans added: “He realises he is in a difficult position having a similar offence back in 2000 but he has a good work ethic and will co-operate with a community payback order.
“He made a foolish decision to drive while intoxicated so he could buy more alcohol. He says he is an intermittent heavy drinker.”
Sheriff Fleetwood told Grant that it was not his drinking that was the problem.
“It is his driving after he has been drinking.
“You have had at least three previous opportunities to plead guilty to the offence, but chose to postpone it on several occasions.”
Grant changed his plea to guilty on the day he was due to stand trial last month and sentence was deferred for a background report.
The sheriff added: “You knew full well what you were doing. This was quite deliberate, driving while approaching five times the legal limit.”