A DRIVER who jumped behind the wheel of his partner’s car and crashed it, after a day of heavy drinking, has been spared the ‘ignominy of jail’.

Iain Lynn of Falkland Place, Ayr admitted driving on on Falkland Place and Lansdowne Road, Ayr on May 6 while he was six times the legal limit.

The 37-year-old had consumed so much alcohol that the proportion of it in his system was 133 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath which exceeded the limit of 22 micrograms of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

Lynn appeared before Sheriff John Montgomery at Ayr Sheriff Court last week. 

Depute Fiscal Kevin Jarvis explained: “The incident took place at 8.30pm. Lynn’s partner was at a friend’s house. The woman’s friend looked out the window and observed the accused driving his partner’s car.

“She then heard a collision. The accused had hit into another car but he continued driving into another vehicle. Lynn’s girlfriend went to see him in the driveway and found that he was intoxicated. 

“Police arrived and took statements from the witnesses and the woman confirmed that Lynn had been driving her car.”

Speaking on his behalf, defence solicitor Ian Gillies, said: “Prior to this incident Mr Lynn was in full time employment as a heavy goods vehicle driver.

“He had been driving 10,000km a month and has never been in trouble before. He made a massive error in judgement.
“My client had been at a football match and there was a bus that took him home after the game. He got in the car to drive for two minutes on a journey that would have taken him 10 minutes to walk but he decided to drive.

“When he woke up he immediately told the police what had happened and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity when he appeared from custody.

“He could not believe that he acted in this way. Up until now he had been a valued member of the community and had served in the armed forces.

“Mr Lynn knows this is a serious matter but there are options available to your Lordship other than custody. He could do some community service and he will not let you down.

“It is not often I say this but I do not think he will be back before your Lordship. He can thank his lucky starts that this is not more serious.”

Addressing the dock, Sheriff Montgomery, said: “This is quite clearly a serious aberration caused by the amount of drink taken on the day in question.

“Normally custody would be at the front of my mind but I you seem to have a good character and I can spare you the ignominy of a custodial sentence.”

Lynn has been disqualified from obtaining or holding a drivers licence for 24 months. He has also been ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work within six months.