POLICE came across a drink driver changing a wheel of his damaged car after he had crashed it into a wall, Dingwall Sheriff Court heard today (Thursday).
Officers had been driving on the unclassified Heights of Achterneed road, between Dingwall and Strathpeffer, when they noticed a broken wall and debris from a car accident.
About a mile and a half further down the road they came upon 35-year-old Dingwall man, Lee Blackburn, changing a wheel of a damaged vehicle.
Depute fiscal Stewart Maciver told Sheriff Robert McFarlane that Blackburn acknowledged he had been involved in an accident and the debris was from his vehicle. A breath test proved positive.
At the court, Blackburn, of The Old Jail House, Dingwall, pleaded guilty to driving with 69 mcgs of alcohol per 100mls of breath which is nearly twice the legal limit of 35mcgs.
Alison Foggo, solicitor, said Blackburn worked as a warehouseman and driver and he could lose his job.
"His coat is on a shoogly peg," she told the Sheriff.
"He was returning home after a night out having consumed more alcohol than he intended."
She said it was the first time he had fallen foul of the drink-drive laws.
Sheriff McFarlane told Blackburn he suspected he knew that he would be over the limit but had decided to take the risk.
He fined Blackburn £400 and banned him from driving for 15 months.
