A disabled man has been banned from the road after he was caught drink-driving – on his mobility scooter.
Reckless Stephane Van-Rothschild, 45, had been drinking at home and in the pub when he hopped on the vehicle to get MORE alcohol.
He drove for several miles before crashing the scooter – which only has a top speed of 8mph – into a bin in the early hours of the morning.
Van-Rothschild was fined £150 and banned from using the scooter for 12 months at the Sheriff Court in Aberdeen.
His solicitor, Mike Monro, said: ”He decided to take his mobility scooter into town.
”He went into a licensed premises in the city centre and proceeded to drive up the pavement on Union Street.
”At that time of the morning there were a number of revellers on the street and he was driving between them.”
Fish and chip worker Rothschild needs the scooter because he has severe breathing problems.
The incident on August 14 last year was captured on CCTV, which showed his scooter weaving around the city centre.
Van-Rothschild pleaded guilty to driving the unregistered scooter while under the influence of drink or drugs.
Neil Greig of the IAM Motoring Trust welcomed Van-Rothschild’s ban but said more should be done to keep mobility scooter drivers on the straight and narrow.
He said: ”I’m the pleased that the courts took this case seriously. These are big vehicles that can hurt people and can kill people.
”It’s a growing market. Sales are up and more and more people are using them.
”But the law regarding them is a bit of a grey area. The law needs to catch up with what’s going on here.”