A man who drove while nearly four times the alcohol limit has claimed he did not feel drunk.
Alistair Shepherd (52), Provost Reids Road, Montrose, admitted driving with excess alcohol (128 mics) on his own street and the town’s Annat Road on Saturday.
Arbroath Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday that Shepherd was stopped by police, who were alerted to him driving without headlights on at around 10pm.
Shepherd’s defence agent said her client had been offered a job as a site manager on Friday and that he had indulged in alcohol to celebrate.
She added that his last conviction had been in 2005 and that the incident represented a “one-off” offence.
“He tells me he didn’t feel he was over the limit, although he does accept that he was,” she said.
Shepherd had been on the way to the local shop when he was spotted by the police and pulled over to be breathalysed.
Sheriff Derek Pyle said he must have been “very drunk”, adding: “It is a wonder he could drive the car at all.
“It is impossible for somebody not to feel over the limit when they are four times over it is simply physically impossible … But I am prepared to accept that this was a one-off.”
Shepherd was banned from driving for two years and fined £400.