Police officer from Maryburgh who turned up for work in Inverness over the limit is banned from driving
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A female police officer was breathalysed by colleagues in Inverness and found to have been drink-driving.
Allison Heap of the Northern Division of Police Scotland arrived by car at the Old Perth Road complex in Inverness at 8am on October 1 last year.
Inverness Sheriff Court was told today that colleagues smelled alcohol on her breath and when she was tested almost two hours later, at 9.55am, she was more than five times the legal drink-drive limit.
Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald heard that the 51-year-old mother of two from Maryburgh had 115 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 22mgs.
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told the court: "She drove into the Divisional Headquarters car park and it became apparent when she spoke to colleagues that she had been drinking, so the usual breath test was carried out."
Defence solicitor John MacColl said: "She is a serving police officer and is currently suspended. She apologises for the error of judgement.
"She has suffered medically as a result and is under the care of various doctors. She has also been referred for alcohol treatment."
Heap was fined £800 and banned from driving for 16 months.
She faces a further allegation of being drunk in charge of her vehicle at the same location on August 6 this year, for which she appeared in court from custody on August 7 and tendered a plea of not guilty.
Mr MacCol told the court: "This is likely to progress to trial. The defence is that there was no likelihood of her driving. She had messaged a friend to pick her up at the end of her shift."
A further intermediate diet was fixed for November 12 with trial on December 19.
The charge alleges that she was almost five times the legal limit at the time she was found in her vehicle. The alcohol reading was 100mgs.
