Drink driver’s lengthy ban

A DRINK driver in Shetland who was five times over the legal alcohol limit has been banned from the road for six and a half years.

Forty five year old Neil Jamieson, of Sandveien, Lerwick, was stopped by police officers because of the manner of his driving at the town’s South Road at lunchtime on 26 January.

At Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said it was a particularly high count which merited the forfeiture of Jamieson’s Ford Focus.

Sheriff Philip Mann told Jamieson that his driving ban would have been 10 years had it not been for his early plea.

He also imposed a community payback order meaning Jamieson must carry out 160 hours of unpaid work in the next nine months as an alternative to custody.

His car is to be made over to a finance company for disposal. 

Defence agent Tommy Allan had asked the sheriff to consider not ordering the vehicle’s forfeiture. While Jamieson understood it was “his fault and brought about by him”, other family members would be affected by the loss of the car.

When Jamieson appeared in court previously, Allan explained that his client had “a big night” the day before and did not appreciate how much alcohol was still in his system.