A drunken millionaire who drove an electric golf buggy down a main road with a pal in the passenger seat and another man clinging to the back after consuming nearly five times the legal limit of alcohol narrowly escaped jail last Thursday.

A court heard that Colin Peat, 47, co-director of the biggest demolition company in Scotland - who was fined, banned for six years, and ordered to perform unpaid work in place of prison - had been drinking all day at a charity event at Glenbervie Golf Club in Larbert before embarking on the "prank".

He took the buggy, which belonged to a pal, intending to park it among vehicles lined up for sale in a nearby used car lot.

But Falkirk Sheriff Court was told that "as luck would have it", the first vehicle to pass Peat and his pals as the golf cart made its progress down Stirling Road was a police car.

Prosecutor Ann Orr said officers spotted the cart about five minutes to midnight on June 5, 2015 as it was going round the North Broomage roundabout in Larbert, which links the A9 and the M876 sliproad.

The depute fiscal said: "The accused was driving an electronic golf buggy. He had a front-seat passenger and another male holding onto the back.

"The vehicle turned off the roundabout, where the officers stopped it.

"Both officers immediately noticed a strong smell of alcohol from the accused's breath. He freely admitted he had been drinking all day and he said he'd just had a drink before driving the buggy.

"There was a bottle of beer in the buggy.

"He said the buggy had been driven from Glenbervie Golf Club and it belonged to a friend of his."

Mrs Orr added: "It was difficult to discover what was the case due to the accused's drunken demeanour."

Because he had been drinking so recently, officers allowed 20 minutes to elapse before administering a roadside breath test, which Peat failed. He was taken to Falkirk Police Station and gave a breath sample which contained 97 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres - some 4.4 times the legal limit, which is 22.

It transpired that he was also not insured to drive the unregistered vehicle on the public highway, and Peat was cautioned and charged.

Peat, of Antonine View, Bonnybridge, Stirlingshire, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and driving without insurance.

Defence solicitor Gordon Addison said Peat, co-director of Bonnybridge-based asbestos removal, recycling and demolition giants Central Demolition Ltd., had been drinking all day at a charity event at the golf club.

At the end of the day, "cars had been ordered" and while waiting for his taxi, Peat decided to move the golf cart as a joke.

Mr Addison said it had been "an unusual and somewhat silly escapade".

He said: "As is sometimes the case, men in drink make bad decisions, and a decision was made that they'd take the buggy and line it up among the other cars for sale in the garage by the roundabout, then walk back up to the golf club."

He said they had seen no other vehicles before the police stopped them.

Mr Addison said the incident had caused "shame and embarrassment" to Peat, whose role at Central Demolition - the largest such company in Scotland the third largest in the UK - saw him required to drive 45,000 miles a year north and south of the Border pricing contracts. Mr Addison said the loss of his licence would impose "massive costs" on the company.

The solicitor said there had been "ongoing consequences" for Peat's reputation, with some customers concerned about the affect on them from association with him.

Sheriff Linda Smith disqualified Peat - whom the court heard was a "serial motoring offender" - for six years, and fined him £400.

She also ordered him to perform 270 hours unpaid work, which she said was as an alternative to a term of imprisonment, and placed him under social work supervision for 18 months.

She said she hoped that the supervision requirement would result in him being helped to control the level of his drinking.

She said it was a serious matter.

She added: "It strikes me that someone of your age and your position in the community should not have been behaving in such a childish manner."

Outside court, Peat insisted he did not know that the drink-driving laws applied to golf carts on public roads.

He said: "We were going to park the buggy outside the car showroom. It was just a prank - I didn't realise it was against the law."