Drunk drove with two flat tyres

Dec 30 2011 by Colin Rutherford, Kilmarnock Standard

A LAWYER who drove through Stewarton with two flat tyres and a traffic cone stuck under his van had an alcohol level more than three times the legal limit.

At Kilmarnock Sheriff Court last week Clarke Muir was banned from the road for two years and had his vehicle confiscated.

The 41-year-old, of Dean Street, Stewarton, was also fined £400 after he pleaded guilty to having a breath/alcohol count of 112 microgrammes when he was stopped by police on December 3. The legal maximum is 35.

Scott Toal, prosecuting, said that another motorist was sitting at traffic lights in Lainshaw Street at 1.50am when he saw a small white van coming towards him.

“The van struck a small roundabout and then collided with a set of temporary traffic lights,” said Mr Toal.

The police were flagged down and followed the van.

Mr Toal said: “They noted that the front tyres were burst and it was dragging a roadside cone under it.”

And when they stopped the vehicle, they found Muir unsteady on his feet, his speech was slurred and there was a strong smell of alcohol.

An agent for Muir, who works for the children’s reporter administration, said that her client suffered from anxiety.

“It appears one means of coping with that has been the misuse of alcohol,” she said.

Muir, said the solicitor, had been referred for alcohol counselling and also had an appointed fixed with a psychiatrist.

She told the court: “He has suffered from anxiety for a number of years. There may be underlying psychiatric issues.”

Sheriff Alistair Watson told Muir: “It is just a relief that it was a traffic cone you ended up dragging under your vehicle and not a pedestrian.

“Lots of people have all sorts of difficulties in their lives. None of your difficulties caused you to get behind the wheel of a van.”

Agreeing to a prosecution request for the forfeiture of the vehicle, the sheriff said that it was appropriate to remove any temptation Muir may have to drive.