Driver was more than seven times over drink drive limit

It was the highest alcohol reading a sheriff had ever seen.

Juliusz Kostecki was arrested after colleagues raised the alarm.

Police tested him and found he had 161 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the legal maximum is 22mgs.

The dad- of- one was fined £300 and banned from driving for three years at Hamilton Sheriff Court this week.

Sheriff Shiona Waldron told him: “This must be the highest alcohol reading I have ever seen.”

Kostecki, 38, of Sherry Avenue, admitted driving while over the limit in East Kilbride, on February 3.

An allegation that he drove carelessly and reversed into a parked vehicle was however dropped.

The court heard fellow workers suspected Kostecki was under the influence when he left the warehouse at 2.55pm.

CCTV showed he had driven off from the car park.

Police went to his home and when he answered the door to the officers on duty he was unsteady on his feet.

Officers detected a strong smell of alcohol from him.

At that point Kostecki claimed he had only started drinking after he arrived back at his home.

Sheriff Waldron said his three-year ban will be cut by nine months if he completes a rehabilitation course for drink-drivers.