Court / Repeat drink driver banned for three years

A MAN from Burra who was found driving while over the alcohol limit twice within a three-month period has been banned from the roads for three years and fined almost £1,500.

Terry Laurenson, of Hamnavoe, appeared at Lerwick Sheriff Court for sentencing on Thursday.

The 42-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to driving over the limit on Lerwick’s Commercial Street on 4 November 2023 and in the Gott area on 31 January this year.

In court on Thursday, defence solicitor Martin Morrow said his client had come a long way in addressing his alcohol use.

Acknowledging the seriousness of the offending, the solicitor pleaded for leniency saying there was an alternative to custody in this case.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank said he had taken on board Laurenson’s efforts to tackle his alcohol use, and also acknowledged that at 39 and 28 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, both readings were “not particularly high”.

The legal limit is 22 microgrammes.

The sheriff banned Laurenson from driving for a year for the first offence and a mandatory three years for the second drink driving offence. Both disqualifications are to run concurrently.

Laurenson can reduce the period of disqualification by a quarter should he successfully complete the drink driver rehabilitation course.

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