A man was caught drink-driving home with his takeaway after a friend persuaded him to have a second pint of ale.
Denis Garden had decided to pop to his local inn for a takeaway as he didn’t want to cook but stopped for a drink while there.
When a friend bought the 69-year-old a second pint, he stayed to polish that off too, during which time another pubgoer alerted the police to his intention to drive home.
Officers pulled Garden over and found him smelling of alcohol with glazed eyes. He was arrested after failing a breath test.
Fiscal depute Brooklyn Shaw told Aberdeen Sheriff Court that, around 9.30pm on May 22, police received information Garden was drinking alcohol and would be driving home afterwards.
Officers attended the unclassified road between Catterline and the A92 road side of Catterline, where they pulled over Garden’s vehicle.
A strong smell of alcohol was detected and Garden’s eyes appeared glazed.
After failing a breath test he was arrested.
‘I can see why you might be, quite rightly, embarrassed about it’
Garden, of Catterline, pled guilty to driving with 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.
Defence agent Gail Goodfellow said her client appeared with one “relatively minor” previous conviction and the case was a source of “much embarrassment” for him.
She went on: “He’d been working relatively late that day. On returning home he decided instead of making a meal he’d drive to his local inn to get a takeaway meal.”
Mrs Goodfellow said Garden drove 1.5 miles to the inn with the intention of getting his food and driving home.
But the solicitor explained Garden bumped into friends drinking at the inn “quite by chance” and decided to have one drink with them before driving home.
She continued: “Unfortunately, another friend bought him a second drink and regrettably he drank that before getting his takeaway and driving home.”
Mrs Goodfellow said the two pints of ale were the only drinks her client consumed and he was “deeply ashamed” to be in court over the matter.
Sheriff Peter Grant-Hutchison told Garden: “I do appreciate this is entirely out of character for you.
“I can see why you might be, quite rightly, embarrassed about it.”
He fined Garden £640 and banned him from driving for a year.
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