A drink-driving floor layer who chatted to women in a pub fled when soldiers who knew the females turned up – crashing into parked vehicles as he went.
Mark Barclay, 36, had been working and staying at Kinloss barracks when he decided to drive to a nearby Spar for some alcohol to take back to his room.
But he ended up nipping into the pub next door for one, which turned into several, when he got chatting to two women at the bar.
And when soldiers from the barracks turned up and seemed to know the women the situation became heated and Barclay fled in his car, despite being over the limit.
Fiscal depute Ryan Diamond told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around 10.30pm on February 3.
He said witnesses outside the Abbey Inn on Findhorn Road, Kinloss, saw Barclay get into a blue Audi and “concerns were raised as to the accused’s level of intoxication”.
Police were contacted and, as Barclay drove off, he collided with no fewer than three other vehicles in the car park.
He was later traced and stopped by police who found him to smell strongly of alcohol and appear drunk.
‘One drink became two, etc, etc’
He was arrested after failing a breath test.
Checks revealed he was also uninsured.
Barclay, of Tweed Crescent, Dundee, pled guilty to driving with 40 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
He also admitted failing to stop after an accident and driving without insurance.
Defence agent Shane Campbell said his client had been in Kinloss for work as a self-employed floor layer.
He’d been contracted to carry out work at Kinloss barracks, where he was also given accommodation.
Mr Campbell explained Barclay had driven into town to buy alcohol from a Spar store with the intention of taking it back to the barracks to drink.
He said: “Instead, he made the decision to enter the public house directly beside the Spar.
“He went in for what he intended to be one drink.
Barclay got ‘flustered’ when soldiers arrived
“He got chatting to a number of females at the bar. One drink became two, etc, etc.
“Two males then come into the pub. They were members of the armed forces who also resided at the barracks.
“He’s not sure why a difficulty arose between him and the males but it appears they may have known the two females he was talking to.
“He decided the best course of action was to exit the premises as quickly as possible.”
Mr Campbell said Barclay’s judgement was clouded by the alcohol and being “flustered” by the confrontation, and he made the “foolish” decision to drive off.
He added the car had only just been purchased and Barclay had not set up insurance yet.
Sheriff Mungo Bovey fined Barclay £1,040 and banned him from driving for 16 months.
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