A MAN who took his dad's car to a nightclub was caught on CCTV driving home drunk.

Christopher Shields, of Malcolm Place, Helensburgh, pleaded guilty at Dumbarton Sheriff Court last week to being almost four times the legal limit when he was pulled over by police.

The 21-year-old had been spotted on CCTV around 3.15am on March 31 standing outside a night club on Balloch Road and then getting into a vehicle and driving up and turning on to Lomond Road.

Police stopped him at 3.35am and found him smelling strongly of alcohol. He had a reading of 87mg of alcohol in 100ml of breath where the limit is 22mg.

Defence solicitor Tom Brown said Shields drove sober to the club and had no intention of driving back. But after standing for some time waiting for a taxi, he made a "ridiculous decision to get into his car".

He said: "He did drive for his father. He realises he has been very stupid indeed. It was his father's car and as you can imagine, his father is not too happy with him."

Sheriff William Gallacher he Shields "knew fine well" what he was doing was wrong, pointing out a car can become a lethal weapon.

He added: "This was an incredibly stupid thing to do."

Shields was fined £350 and disqualified from driving for 15 months.