A DRIVER who was nearly four times the legal drink limit has been banned from the roads.

Douglas Gherardi, of Iona Crescent, Old Kilpatrick, was driving in Duntocher Road, Clydebank in the early hours of April 14, 2020.

Police spotted him around 1.15am and pulled along side, spotting that Gherardi appeared dazed.

He was asked to switch off his engine and Gherardi replied: “Can I just put the windows up and go home?”

Gherardi handed over his keys and attempted to put his windows up when cops detected a smell of alcohol.

He claimed he had his last drink around midnight but he was arrested and taken to Clydebank police office.

Officers had to obtain a urine sample to test his intoxication and it came in at 243mg of alcohol in 100ml of urine, when the limit is 67mg.

Gherardi, 36, later pleaded guilty to driving drunk.

At Dumbarton Sheriff Court on November 23 for sentencing, Gherardi’s defence solicitor, Stephen McGuire, said his client appreciated he was lucky not to injure himself or others with the level of intoxication.

He added: “He is well aware of the consequences. He very much regrets the poor choices he made.”

Sheriff John Hamilton imposed a community payback order with 12 months of supervision by social workers and 120 hours of unpaid work within the year.

He was disqualified from driving for 22 months, but can lower that to 18 months if he completes a drink driving rehabilitation course.