A MOTORIST who was found in charge of a vehicle while almost five times the legal alcohol limit has been banned from the road for nine months at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Fifty-year-old Jonathon Cope pleaded guilty to having a breath/alcohol count of 102 microgrammes – the legal limit being 22 – while in charge of a van which was found down a banking off the B6399 Hawick to Newcastleton road on September 6.

Prosecutor Alasdair Fay said it was around 10 to 10 in the evening when a member of the public spotted the lights of a van in amongst trees in an area it was clearly not supposed to be.

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He continued: “The man went down the banking to help the driver and found him in the vehicle and there was a strong smell of alcohol.”

Cope, of Barhill Road, Dalbeattie, told the court he had been drinking and expressed remorse for his actions that day.

Sheriff Kenneth McIver noted Cope had pleaded guilty at the first calling of the offence and as a result reduced the length of the ban from 12 months to nine months. He also imposed a fine of £200 with a £20 victim surcharge.