An Inverness driver caught behind the wheel for the sixth time while over the drink-drive limit has been banned from the roads for 10 years.
Billy Fraser was already disqualified when police spotted him in his car outside a convenience store.
He smelled of alcohol and testing later revealed him to be three-and-a-half times the drink-drive limit.
Fraser, 20, appeared via videolink at Inverness Sheriff Court for sentencing having previously admitted charges of drink-driving and driving whilst disqualified.
Fiscal depute Naomi Duffy-Welsh told the court the incident took place on April 10 of this year on Thornbush Road, Inverness.
She said: “Mr Fraser was present outside the Spar shop and had driven to the locus with a passenger in the front seat of the vehicle.
“Police observed the vehicle and carried out a PNC check, which showed Fraser was disqualified.
“They approached the vehicle and attempted to engage with Mr Fraser who refused to engage with police and kept the door locked and the window up.”
The court heard that Fraser told officers he was suffering from mental health difficulties, but when he finally opened the window, officers detected the smell of alcohol.
Fraser failed a roadside breath test and was arrested.
Three-and-a-half-times the limit
Further testing revealed his alcohol level to be 77 microgrammes per 100 ml of breath – three-and-half-times the legal limit of 22 microgrammes.
Solicitor Clare Russell, for Fraser, said her client had been self-medicating with a significant amount of alcohol at the time of the incident.
Noting that this was his sixth drink-driving offence, and second time being caught driving whilst disqualified, she said he felt “a deep sense of regret” over his offending behaviour.
Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald banned Fraser from the roads for 10 years, telling him: “This is because this is your sixth drink-driving conviction.
“Instead of sending you to jail, I’m going to order you to carry out a community payback order for the next two years.”
Fraser, of Carnac Crescent, Inverness, will have to complete two years of supervision and 160 hours of unpaid work in the community.