A man who was FIVE TIMES the legal drink limit drove to the store for a bottle of booze, a court has heard.

David Ashman was spotted, followed and reported by a concerned driver who saw him on the road earlier this year.

Around 6.50pm on June 19, a witness was standing on Kirkton Crescent, Cardross, when a vehicle drove past.

It mounted the pavement as it negotiated a corner and the witness got into his vehicle and followed the car.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard on September 5 that the car in front was "driven at excessively slow speeds".


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Fiscal depute Mandy Robertson said the driver stopped outside the Co-op in Main Road, Cardross.

Ashman get out and went into the store. The witness, meanwhile, was concerned that this man was behind the wheel and notified police and send a picture to identify the driver.

A little after 7pm, officers attended at Ashman's home in Carleith Road and saw his vehicle poorly parked, sitting at an angle.

Ashman answered the door and said he had gone to buy a bottle of alcohol.

Officers could detect the smell of stale alcohol from the man and he confirmed it was his car outside.

Ashman stated he had just opened a bottle of wine, and after a wait he tested positive for alcohol.

He was arrested and taken to Clydebank police office, where a formal test confirmed he had 122mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

The limit is 22mg.

Ashman later pleaded guilty to driving on the A814 in Cardross while over the legal limit.

Sheriff Clair McLachlan said: "It's a high reading."

Defence solicitor Kenny McGowan said: "He seems to have acknowledged the offence is a serious one, made all the more serious by the reading.

"He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity."

The lawyer said his client had previously attended Alcoholics Anonymous and the Dumbarton Area Council on Alcohol for his problem.

There was a motion by the crown for forfeiture of his car, but that it was in fact his brother's vehicle and was "not in working order".

Sheriff McLachlan said: "You recognise this is a high reading. You're lucky you didn't cause injury to yourself or others."

She banned him from driving for two years. If Ashman completes a drink driver rehabilitation course, he can reduce that to 18 months.

He must also complete a community payback order with eight months of social work supervision with alcohol counselling or treatment as directed.

And he must do 132 hours of unpaid work in the community.