A MAN who was found to be driving at more than five times the legal limit has been fined and banned from the road for over a year.

Andrew Hamilton appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Thursday, June 21, for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to a single charge of driving while under the influence.

Susannah Hutchison, prosecuting, told the court that on April 28 of this year, the accused was driving along the B901 at around 10.20pm when a witness observed driving which worried them.

Officers then attended at the home of the accused and saw him lying on the couch. He told them he had only had two cans of beer.

A breath test carried out, however, showed that Hamilton’s breath had 118mcg of alcohol for 100ml of breath when the legal limit is 22mcg.

Hamilton’s defence lawyer told the court that his client had recently undergone an operation which had gone wrong and now suffers from regular fainting episodes.

He added that he had one recently which was the reason that his face was covered in painful looking bruises.

Sheriff David Mackie fined Hamilton, of St Serf’s Grove, Clackmannan, £1,000 and disqualified him from driving for a period of 16 months.

The sheriff added that the accused would not be suitable for any drink driving awareness courses as the reading was too high.