A motorist claimed he had to drive 20 miles while he was nearly five times the limit because a hospital had thrown his partner out in the rain wearing pyjamas and slippers.
Mark Lynch said he should not be banned from driving because he acted out of necessity to collect former nurse Fiona Barrington after she was discharged from hospital in the early hours of the morning.
Former HGV driver Lynch, 47, of Sauchie Terrace, Crieff, admitted that on February 11 on Long Causeway he drove his Mercedes C180 with excess alcohol (99 mics).
He claimed he should not be banned because he had only driven because he had no other option in the circumstances.
Lynch told Perth Sheriff Court: “Fiona called in quite a state and said she was getting discharged from hospital and was to leave straight away.
“This was about 2am. The first bus was at 5.30am. I panicked. She was only in her pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers. She said the nurse told her she could not wait in the waiting room. She had to stand outside the hospital. I was panicking and took the car.
“At that moment, there was no other option for me. She had nowhere to go.”
Ms Barrington told the court she was formerly a nurse but had been forced to give up work due to a number of medical conditions.
She said: “The senior house officer felt that I was well enough to be discharged and I didn’t have any money to get home.”
Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “This was a very concerning situation for him. His sole motivation in driving was to assist her.”
However, depute fiscal Bill Kermode told the court: “The fact she was to be thrown out of the hospital was later retracted in her evidence. It was not an emergency.”
Sheriff Fiona Tait told Lynch: “I’m not particularly persuaded by your version of events. I would have to be satisfied an emergency situation existed and there was no alternative.”
She banned Lynch for 20 months and fined him £360.