A drunk-driver was caught by police after he stopped off at a Perth filling station to stock up on MORE booze.
Concerned staff at the Fair City garage raised the alarm when Martin Maughan staggered into their store in the early hours of the morning.
The dad-of-three was turned away after trying to buy drink outside permitted licensing hours.
Shop workers called police when they saw him go back to his van and drive off.
Maughan, a labourer from Shropshire, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving with more than three times the legal level of alcohol in his system (71 mics/ 100) at an area of the city known as The Triangle.
Sheriff Francs Gill banned the 27-year-old from driving for nearly two years and told him it was lucky no one was hurt.
Offence was ‘out of character’
The court heard Maughan drove to the BP service station, off Dunkeld Road, at around 3.20am on January 27, last year.
Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie said: “The accused entered the store and was observed to be unsteady on this feet. His speech was slurred.
“He asked for alcohol but was advised he could not be served because of licensing laws.”
Ms Ritchie said: “He went back to his vehicle and got into the driver’s seat, before driving away.
“The employees believed that he was under the influence and decided to contact police.”
Maughan, of Oakfield Drive, Shrewsbury, was later traced by officers at the city’s Food and Drink Park, in North Muirton, about a mile from the garage.
“He was sat in the driver’s seat,” said Ms Ritchie.
“The van was stationary but the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running.
“Police could smell alcohol and noted that his speech was slurred.”
He was arrested after a positive roadside breath test, the fiscal depute said.
A solicitor for Maughan described the offence as “very much out of character”.
He said: “There was a bereavement in the family and he took the unfortunate decision to try and buy more alcohol in the early hours of the morning.”
The court heard Maughan has since abstained from alcohol.
Disqualified
Sheriff Gill told him: “You have pled guilty to a very serious charge.
“You were more than three times the legal limit.
“It is only by good fortune that the consequences of your actions were not more severe for other road users or yourself.”
Maughan was fined £600 and banned from driving for 23 months.
