A driver was caught six times over the alcohol limit next to Edinburgh’s Holyrood Palace after returning to his broken down car to find his wallet.
Ian Kerr was spotted by cops inside his vehicle as it sat a short distance from the Queen’s official residence in Scotland.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court heard Kerr’s Peugeot had earlier stopped running and he’d gone to a pal’s home and ended up drinking.
The court was told Kerr, 52, later turned on the car lights to locate his wallet and was seen by the officers.
Kerr pleaded guilty on Wednesday to being in charge of a vehicle with 130 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mg.
Fiscal depute Callum Thomson said it was around 10.35pm on March 26 when officers in a marked police car saw the Peugeot stationary on Queen’s Drive.
Mr Thomson said Kerr was found in the driver’s seat and cops noticed his speech was slurred and he was unsteady.
Defence agent Sandra Walker said her client had been sober when his car broke down and he went to a friend’s home to make arrangements about it.
Ms Walker said Kerr began drinking and later returned to his vehicle to recover his wallet.
The solicitor said Kerr accepted he was in control of the Peugeot as he’d turned its lights on.
She added Kerr, of the city’s Dumbiedykes area, had recently suffered from blackouts and didn’t intend to drive again as a result.
Sheriff Adrian Cottam disqualified Kerr from driving for 12 months and fined him £420.
