A MOTORIST who found it difficult to operate a car wash was found to be more than double the legal alcohol limit.
James Rankin, 64, could not punch in the six-digit number properly and asked employees at Morrison’s in Hawick for assistance at lunchtime on November 18. But staff members detected a strong smell of alcohol and alerted police who stopped him nearby.
Prosecutor Graham Fraser told Jedburgh Sheriff Court on Friday: “He was found on the Appletreehall road not far from the police station and was twice the legal alcohol limit at the time.”
Rankin, of Northcote Street, Hawick, was found to have a breath/alcohol count of 81 micogrammes – the legal limit being 35.
Defending, Rory Bannerman said his client had been drinking into the small hours and thought he was okay to drive by the time lunchtime arrived. Rankin had been driving for 47 years and described the offence as “a gross error of judgement”.
Sheriff Derrick McIntyre told Rankin he must have consumed a huge amount of alcohol beforehand to have such a high reading at the time of the offence. He imposed a 12-month driving ban and fined him £400.