A pensioner has received his first criminal conviction at the age of 82 after crashing his car on the way to a recycling centre after “a couple of cans”.
Anthony Symons was more than double the legal alcohol limit when he crashed on Skateraw Road in Newtonhill.
The boozy 82-year-old had been drinking at home when he decided to take a late-night trip to his local recycling centre.
But it was a decision that would result in him racking up his first-ever conviction when he crashed and was breathalysed by police.
Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the incident happened around midnight on August 18 going into 19.
She said witnesses were in their homes when they heard a loud bang outside.
On looking outside, they saw Symons’ car had been in a collision.
‘It’s a matter of regret to you, I’m sure’
Witnesses went to check on the elderly driver and noted him to smell of alcohol.
Police were notified and, when they arrived, Symons’ volunteered: “I’ve only had a couple of cans.”
Symons, of Cairnhill Drive, Newtonhill, pled guilty to driving with 57 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is just 22 microgrammes.
Defence agent John Hardie said his client, who walked with the aid of a stick, appeared with “no previous convictions at all”.
He explained Symons had “consumed a number of cans of beer” and had decided to take some recycling to a nearby community recycling point.
Mr Hardie also outlined a number of health difficulties Symons had and added the case was “extremely embarrassing for him”.
Sheriff Kevin Duffy told Symons: “It’s a matter of regret to you, I’m sure, you find yourself in this situation.”
He ordered the pensioner to pay a fine of £420 and banned him from driving for a year.
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