A DRUNK man was found asleep at the wheel of a car in Irvine while the engine was running.

Gary Morrison, of Barra Crescent, was more than twice the limit when he was spotted by police in the early hours of July 26 last year.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard Morrison woke up when police spotted his Renault Clio near his home at around 1.10am.

Officers spotted that the keys were in the ignition and the engine was running.

Morrison, 57, failed a roadside breath test and was arrested and taken to Saltcoats police office, where he later provided a further sample to police with a reading of 49 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath. 

The limit in Scotland is 22 microgrammes.

The court also heard that in a separate incident, on January 16 this year, officers spotted a speeding car in Irvine's High Street and activated their blue lights.

They pulled the car over and discovered Morrison at the wheel and a strong smell of alochol coming from him, while there were three cans of beer in the rear passenger footwell.

This time Morrison provided a sample with a reading of 52 microgrammes.

Morrison was sentenced on March 22 after pleading guilty to one charge of drink-driving and one of being drunk while in charge of a motor vehicle.

 

Lawyer Simon Brown said: “There had been a deterioration of his physical health after a car accident.

"He had ongoing issues with his knees and back, then unfortunately he had problems with his heart that led to depression. It led him go back to his old ways and consumption of alcohol.

“If there is a silver lining on this, it is that his family now recognise the issues and he has got support.

"He recognises the problem he has and now has to deal with that. He clearly needs supervision and wants that.”

Sheriff Nicola Patrick banned Morrison from driving for four years and, as a direct alternative to custody, put him on a tag for six months which will require him to stay in his home from 7pm until 7am.

Morrison was also put on a community payback order with two years of social work supervision, while as part of the order a 'conduct requirement' was imposed for him to attend for alcohol counselling.