A Perthshire woman caught more than five times the legal limit has been jailed for five months and banned from driving for nine years.
Margot Smith, 59, Broompark, Balthayock, was spotted buying bottles of whiskey and gin then driving off in her car while already drunk on two separate occasions.
She admitted that on January 17, on the road from Balthayock to Broompark, Glencarse, she drove with 111 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the limit of 22 microgrammes.
Depute fiscal Rebecca Kynaston told the court that Smith was reported to the police after being spotted sitting in the driver’s seat of her vehicle, struggling to get her key in the ignition, after buying alcohol from a store.
Smith also pled guilty to driving with 121 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on Main Street, St Madoes to Brookpark, on March 22.
The accused, who was previously banned from driving for three years in 2008, had purchased gin from a store at St. Madoes while appearing heavily under the influence of alcohol.
A witness called the police when she saw Smith drive off in her car. Officers later discoverd three empty bottles of gin in her living room.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: “She has a significant alcohol problem and unfortunately she cannot keep away from a car while she does alcohol. As a result she is a danger to the public.
“Custody is the only relevant option. It has to be made clear to people that driving at such a level will lead to prison.”
