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Ullapool ferry passenger admits drug driving





The accused was a passenger on the MV Loch Seaforth. Picture: Alan Jamieson, via Wikimedia Commons.
The accused was a passenger on the MV Loch Seaforth. Picture: Alan Jamieson, via Wikimedia Commons.

A passenger on a Western Isles ferry to Ullapool was angry when his vehicle was directed on to the mezzanine deck of the vessel.

Louis Conaghan of Palewell Close, Orpington, had boarded the Loch Seaforth in Stornoway on December 22, 2022 and immediately complained to crew members.

Fiscal depute Sharon Ralph said that Conaghan claimed he was disabled and he should not have been put there.

Court news

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But, Mrs Ralph added, the staff also smelled alcohol from his breath.

"When the vessel docked at Ullapool, the accused was repeatedly sounding his horn, and screaming: 'get me off this f...ing boat,' she said.

"He got out of his vehicle and continued to shout and swear at crew. This went on for 20 minutes."

Mrs Ralph told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald that a crew member contacted the police who were provided with Conaghan's registration number.

The 30 year old's car was traced to Contin on the A835 and officers tested Conaghan for drugs, which proved positive for cannabis.

Conaghan, who was not present in court, admitted threatening or abusive behaviour and drug driving. His reading was 7mcg of cannabis when the safe limit is 2mcg.

Defending, Myhrin Hill said: "He suffers from anxiety and had been medically prescribed cannabis. But he should not have been near a car."

Conaghan was fined a total of £670 and banned from driving for a year.


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