A PUB owner has pleaded guilty to driving at twice the legal drink limit near Tarbet last month.

Christopher O’Donnell, 33, was driving on the A83 at the junction near the village around 5.30pm on April 22 when police pulled him over.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court was told last week that the officers noticed the smell of alcohol from O’Donnell and took a breath sample, which gave a reading of 45 microgrammes of alcohol in alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Defence solicitor Euan Cameron said his client owns and works at The Athletic Tavern in Girvan, Ayrshire.

He said: “On the date in question, he had been mountaineering and on returning, had stopped at a pub and taken two pints of lager.

"It was a serious error of judgement but it was uncharacteristic.”

Sheriff John Hamilton disqualified O’Donnell, of Wilson Street, Girvan, for 12 months and fined him £280.

He can reduce the ban to nine months if he passes a drink driver rehabilitation course.

O’Donnell would still have been over the previous Scottish drink-drive limit, which was lowered from 35 microgrammes to 22 in 2014.