Essex man caught drink-driving in Inverness after tip-off from off-duty policeman
A motorist was spotted by an off-duty policeman drinking alcohol in a popular Inverness restaurant and then getting into his car to drive.
The cop then alerted his colleagues, Inverness Sheriff Court heard, and an alert was put out about 40-year-old Thomas Stevens.
His black Ford Ranger was traced and stopped at the Raigmore Interchange after, fiscal depute Adele Gray told Sheriff Sara Matheson, "the manner of his driving was poor".
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A breath test proved positive and later analysis showed that he had 43mcgs of alcohol in his system when the legal limit is 22mcgs. A computer check revealed there was no valid policy of insurance on the vehicle.
Defence solicitor David Patterson said: "He was drinking because his own company was in difficulty, debts were building and the sheriff's officers were at his door.
"It was a coping mechanism. But his circumstances are a lot different now."
Stevens, of Twin Oaks Caravan Park, Stisted, Essex admitted drink-driving and without insurance on June 29.
Sheriff Matheson noted that Stevens had two previous similar convictions. He was fined a total of £580 and banned from driving for three years.
