A tearful chef caught driving while disqualified twice within the space of a week has been jailed.
Sean Rooney was found to be almost four times the drink-drive limit and banned from driving when he was stopped by police in Charleston on April 14.
Despite being charged, Rooney was caught driving by police seven days later in Longforgan.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that Rooney had been suffering from a multitude of personal difficulties in recent months and he broke down in tears while in the dock.
Despite expressing sympathy for his issues, Sheriff Gregor Murray believed there was no alternative but to jail the 28-year-old.
Rooney first attracted the attention of the police when he was driving on South Road with what was described by prosecutor John Richardson as a “minor light issue”.
Police stopped his car and found that his speech was slurred. Rooney failed the roadside breath test with inquiries later revealing that he was disqualified from driving and was driving a car without insurance.
Days later, a member of the public contacted police over concerns about the driver of a vehicle.
Officers attended and again found Rooney to be the driver where it was revealed he was a disqualified driver.
When appearing from custody, Rooney, of Amond Gardens, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance on South Road, near Kirk Street, on April 14.
He also admitted testing 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the limit of 22 mcgs of alcohol.
On April 21 on Main Street, Longforgan, Rooney also drove while disqualified and without insurance.
Defence solicitor Mike Short said Rooney has a history of alcohol misuse and had been signed off from his job as a chef in a city cafe with depression and anxiety.
Rooney could be seen weeping after Mr Short told Sheriff Murray about Rooney’s difficulties in coping with the terminal illness of a family member.
He added that Rooney himself was due to undergo treatment for melanoma.
Mr Short said: “Everything has come together, not at once but in the space of several weeks. His alcohol intake has got worse and worse.
“I can’t condone his behaviour but I have a bit of understanding. He is not trying to excuse it.”
Before jailing Rooney for six months, Sheriff Murray said: “I understand everything said by Mr Short. There’s only one thing I can do but what I can do is take into account the pressures that you have been under.”
Rooney was also given a further driving ban for five years.
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