A woman tried to hide her drink-driving with mouthwash after stopping her car in a Tayside town to swig brandy shortly after 10am.
Elaine Gall was seen pulling up at the roadside before going round to the boot of her car and taking out the brandy bottle and drinking from it.
She then got back into the driver’s seat and was seen to take a swig from a bottle of mouthwash before spitting it out on the road.
Gall’s alarming behaviour was spotted by several passers-by, and the police were contacted, Perth Sheriff Court was told yesterday.
The mother-of-two was found to be almost four times over the legal limit when she was breath tested around two hours later.
Gall, 56, of Strathmore Avenue, Dundee, admitted driving while she was over the limit in Main Street, Invergowrie, on August 16 last year.
Depute fiscal Tina Dickie said Gall was seen driving into the main street during the morning and was noted to have parked at the roadside.
She said: “She was seen to walk round to the rear of the vehicle, take a bottle of brandy from the boot, before taking a couple of swigs and getting back in the car.”
Solicitor Pauline Cullerton, defending, said Gall had been suffering from anxiety and depression because her husband was seriously ill at the time of the incident.
She said her client had also lost her employment after 26 years and had been drinking as a result. She said Gall was now seeking medical help for her alcohol issues.
Sheriff Derek Reekie banned Gall from driving for 16 months and fined her £480.
