A car delivery driver who spun off the road and crashed into a wall with two children in the rear seats was found to be more than four times over the limit.
George Sexton claimed he had been drink-driving after being asked to deliver a new car to a street his parents had lived on before they passed away.
Perth Sheriff Court was told that the two children were not hurt in the crash but were extremely distressed and crying when police arrived at the scene.
Sexton, 33, was told he had narrowly escaped being jailed, as Sheriff Fiona Tait ordered him to carry out 300 hours’ unpaid work as part of a community payback order.
He was also banned from driving for three years and ordered to attend a drink- driving project.
Depute fiscal Stuart Richardson told the court Sexton’s driving was so erratic that other motorists followed him before taking the keys from his ignition when he rammed into the wall.
The two young children aged six and seven were found crying hysterically in the back of the car, which Sexton had kept driving despite bursting a tyre.
Sexton, of Kinloch Terrace, Perth, admitted driving drunk around several streets in Perth on December 20 last year. The court was told he has since lost his job.
He also admitted wilfully exposing children to unnecessary suffering or injury to health by driving a car under the influence of alcohol while they were passengers. He admitted driving with a deflated tyre and colliding with a wall.
Mr Richardson said: “Other motorists became aware of the accused’s vehicle swerving about and driving very slowly. Sexton almost collided with safety barriers at a pedestrian crossing and then he blew out a tyre by colliding with a traffic island at a mini roundabout.
“He kept driving despite the flat tyre and swerved into the oncoming carriageway, causing another motorist to take evasive action to avoid a head-on collision.” Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said Sexton had a problem with alcohol previously but had never been in trouble with the police before.