A BRAZEN motorist who was suspected of drink-driving locked himself in his car and refused to take a breath test when challenged by police.

Officers who found 47-year-old Mark Goldie parked in a Barrhead street in the early hours of the morning ordered him to get out of his vehicle.

However, he ignored their repeated requests and, instead, made sure all of the doors and windows were locked, removed the keys from the ignition and began drinking water.

Goldie was finally arrested after officers used a baton to break one of the windows.

Paisley Sheriff Court heard how a concerned resident raised the alarm after Goldie was spotted in the car while it was parked near lock-ups in Gateside Crescent on January 28, 2019.

When police arrived at the scene, they found two people in the vehicle, which had its engine running.

Goldie opened a window and officers noticed a strong smell of alcohol from his breath.

They radioed colleagues to ask for a breath test meter to be brought to the scene and then requested further details from Goldie but he ignored them, while his passenger left the car.

At that point, Goldie closed the windows, locked the doors and took the keys out of the ignition.

He was advised he was obstructing the police in the course of their duties but stayed in his car, despite “numerous requests” from officers to get out.

After being removed and placed under arrest, Goldie again refused a breath test and was taken to a police station, where he recorded a reading of 11 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – half the legal limit of 22mg.

Goldie, formerly of Barrhead, but now of West Sussex, admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice by refusing to provide a breath test to police.

At a previous hearing, defence agent Nadine Dormer said her client had been looking after his elderly dad in Barrhead but had decided to “socialise outside the house.”

Deferring sentence for background reports, Sheriff Mark Thorley warned him it was “an extremely serious matter” which can normally result in a prison term.

However, when Goldie returned to court this week to learn his fate, Summary Sheriff Laura Mundell decided a jail sentence was not necessary and instead fined him £750, as well as imposing a £40 victim surcharge.