A one-time alcohol advice project manager has been spared jail after admitting one of the highest drink-drive counts seen in an Angus court.
Eileen McArthur’s breath reading of 171 microgrammes was almost five times the legal limit of 35 when she was stopped by police in Forfar last August.
Just three weeks later, 47-year-old McArthur a former Focus on Alcohol Angus senior officer whose work took her to the top of Scottish alcohol abuse prevention efforts was again caught under the influence in her home village of Glamis.
Concerned members of the public reported McArthur to police on each occasion.
McArthur, of Main Street, Glamis, appeared for sentence before Sheriff Kevin Veal at Forfar Sheriff Court today.
He banned McArthur from driving for 10 years and imposed a six-month Restriction of Liberty Order, confining her to her home from 9pm to 7pm daily. McArthur was also made the subject of an 18-month Community Payback Order.
Sheriff Veal said the accused had made a “very public and spectacular fall from grace.”
McArthur’s solicitor, Bob Bruce, had previously tendered guilty pleas to charges against his client of driving in Forfar’s Lentlands Road, and on other roads between Forfar and Glamis, on August 19 with an alcohol count of 171 mics; and driving, or attempting to drive, in Main Street, Glamis, on September 9 whilst unfit through drink or drugs.
“This has ruined her life,” said Mr Bruce, who said McArthur had turned to drink as a “crutch” after the breakdown of her marriage.
McArthur spent several years in the high-profile senior planning officer’s role for Angus Council’s Focus on Alcohol Angus scheme, established in October 2006 as part of the Angus Alcohol and Drugs Partnership to help tackle personal, family and social issues associated with the use of alcohol.
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