A BUSINESSMAN who was three and a half times the legal alcohol limit when stopped in the Borders has been banned from the road for three years and fined £2,000.

Matthew Glover - who had previous road traffic convictions - brought an overnight bag to Selkirk Sheriff Court fearing he was going to be jailed.

The 36-year-old from Lancashire pleaded guilty at Selkirk Sheriff Court to driving on the A702 road near West Linton on May 18 with a breath/alcohol count of 78 microgrammes - the legal limit being 22.

Defence lawyer Sophie Russell said her client had been in Edinburgh to meet a person who was going to put money into his business to clear a £17,000 debt but he never showed.

He had waited for him in a pub and consumed six pints but had gone back to his car to sleep it off.

Ms Russell said:"Clearly he did not leave it long enough."

Sheriff Euan Edmont said that due to Glover's previous drink driving conviction the minimum ban that could be imposed was three years.

He described Glover as being in the "last chance saloon".