Highland man under the influence of drugs was caught driving carelessly.

A man under the influence of drugs was caught driving carelessly.

Malcolm Macdonald (57) was spotted by police driving west on Strathpeffer Road and checks were carried out in relation to another matter on November 21, 2023.

Inverness Sheriff Court heard that police then lost sight of Macdonald before spotting him again quickly accelerating out of a parking bay onto Old Evanton Road.

Fiscal depute Martina Eastwood told Sheriff Nigel Cooke that Macdonald was driving at 40-50mph, exceeding the road limit.

She said: “The driver was looking back at police and straddling both carriageways.

“He then made a sharp right hand turn along a dirt track to an industrial estate, which was a dead end. He was quickly apprehended.”

Tests carried out showed that Macdonald had 108mg of benzoylecgonine per litre of blood in his system when the legal limit is 50mg.

In a separate charge, Macdonald failed to provide a specimen of blood at Burnett Road Police Station in Inverness on May 9, after driving on Inverness roads.

Macdonald, of Station Road, Fortrose, pleaded guilty to careless driving, drug driving and failing to provide a specimen of blood.

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Sheriff Cook fined him a total of £1390 and disqualified him from driving for three years.

Macdonald’s defence solicitor said: “He accepts responsibility for the offences. He struggles with mental and physical health problems and is receiving support from Mikeysline.”