Courts in Moray: Young plumber given roads ban
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An apprentice plumber has lost his driving licence – and may now lose his job – after been caught over the limit.
Jack Simm went to a friend's house in Buckie on February 26, to watch a boxing match.
Defence solicitor Matthew O'Neill told Elgin Sheriff Court that, through the course of the evening, his 19-year-old client had begun drinking steadily rather than heavily.
However, Mr O'Neill added, that the friend then received what was described as "unfortunate news".
The lawyer said that Simm then made the "very foolish" to leave the property.
The police received an anonymous call at 1.50am to say the teenager was driving while under the influence.
An alert was put out but his vehicle was not located in Buckie.
However, at 5.40am, it was spotted over in Elgin on Moss Street.
A breath test carried out 20 minutes later at the town's police recorded a reading of 35, compared to the legal limit of 22.
The court heard that Simm's employer had sent the court a letter, praising both his punctuality and the standard of his plumbing work.
However the letter added that it would be very difficult for him to continue working there if he couldn't drive.
Sheriff Olga Pasportnikov commented that, if the incident had occurred in England rather than Scotland, he wouldn't have been over the limit.
Simm, whose address was given in court papers as Keith Road, Burghead, was banned from the roads for 12 months and also fined £470.
