Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Blazing drunk’ drink driver hid in cupboard to avoid police after rolling car into Moray field

Duncan McGregor was sentenced to unpaid work at Elgin Sheriff Court.
Duncan McGregor was sentenced to unpaid work at Elgin Sheriff Court.

A drink-driver hid in a cupboard to evade police after rolling his girlfriend’s car into a field, a court has heard.

Duncan McGregor, of Lossiemouth, got behind the wheel of Sharon McLean’s vehicle after drinking at a friend’s house.

Witnesses described the labourer as “blazing drunk” before the couple left the Portknockie home for a stroll on Cullen beach on July 30 last year.

Miss McLean, who had not been drinking, drove to the beauty spot but became too emotional to drive back due to an argument with her former partner.

At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday fiscal Alex Swain said McGregor drove the return journey to Portknockie.

However, on the A942 approach to the village the car “veered” off the road before rolling into a field.

Miss Swain said: “There is a gradual bend at the entrance to Portknockie. At this bend Miss McLean described the car veering off the road, spinning and rolling several times before coming to a stop in a field.”

Yesterday McGregor appeared in the dock after pleading guilty to charges of driving carelessly and driving over the legal alcohol limit.

A motorist that noticed the damaged car at about 5am stopped to speak to the couple after spotting them walking in the field.

When the man noticed McGregor slurring his words he called the police.

Miss Swain added: “When officers attended Sharon McLean and the accused were found hiding together in an upstairs cupboard.”

McGregor was found to have 51mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath – the legal limit is 22mcg.

Defence solicitor Matthew O’Neill explained his client had made the “foolish” decision to drive back after Miss McLean got “extremely upset”.

McGregor, of St Gerardine’s Road in Lossiemouth, was ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work, was banned from the roads for 48 months and was placed under a curfew for 135 days.