Court / Drug driving leads to fine and disqualification
A MAN from Burra has been disqualified and was heavily fined after admitting driving while under the influence of drugs.
Alistair Inkster, from Hamnavoe, pleaded guilty to the charge at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday morning.
The 57-year old was stopped by police on 14 December last year while driving between the Hamnavoe shop and his nearby home address.
The court heard that Inkster’s reading of “not less than” 574 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine – the main metabolite of cocaine – in his blood was particularly high.
The legal limit is 50 microgrammes of benzoylecgonine in one litre of blood.
Defence solicitor Tommy Allan said his client had taken the drug two days earlier and assumed he would be clear to drive.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said that this was a “very high reading against what is regarded as the legal limit”.
He banned Inkster from driving for one year and fined him £1,000, plus a £40 victim surcharge, payable within one month.
If you have been affected by crime, help is available. Whether you are victim, a witness, or the accused, you can find independent, impartial, and confidential support in Shetland.
For victims of general crime:
Victim Support Shetland
Phone: 01595744524 or 0800 1601985
Web: https://victimsupport.scot/locations/victim-support-shetland/
Email: VictimSupportHighlandsIslands@victimsupportsco.org.uk
For anyone affected by crime & harm seeking a restorative approach:
Space2face
Phone: 07564 832467
Web: https://www.space2face.org
Email: info@space2face.org
For anyone affected by gender-based violence, including domestic abuse, coercive control, stalking, sexual assault, and rape:
Shetland Women’s Aid
Phone: 01595 692070
Web: https://www.shetlandwa.org
Email: office@shetlandwa.org
The Compass Centre (Shetland Rape Crisis)
Phone: 01595 744402 or 08088 010302
Web: https://www.compasscentre.org
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For anyone affected by substance use:
Shetland Recovery Hub and Community Network
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Web: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100075791869200
Email: recoveryhub@shetland.gov.uk
Shetland Alcohol & Drug Partnership
Phone: 01595 743060 or 07342 077789
Web: https://shetlandadp.org.uk
Email: shet.sadp@nhs.scot
Substance Use Recovery Service
Phone: 01595 743006
