A boozed-up driver from Barrhead was caught overtaking a police car on a busy trunk road while nearly four times the alcohol limit.

Joseph Fulton, of Arthur Avenue, appeared in court last week for sentencing after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to driving while heavily under the influence on the A82 in Dumbarton on July 14, 2020.

Dumbarton Sheriff Court heard how police were in an unmarked vehicle and observed Fulton overtake them at excessive speed.

Once they pulled the 33-year-old over, cops noticed that he was intoxicated as he was slurring his speech, unsteady on his feet and smelled heavily of alcohol.

The business owner was then asked by officers to complete a roadside breath test, which he failed.

At nearby Clydebank police station Fulton provided a sample with a reading of 80 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit in Scotland is 22 microgrammes.

Jonathan Paul, defending, said: “He recognises the stupidity of his decisions. He was out and made the stupid decision to drive back instead of his partner picking him up.”

Fulton was banned for 16 months and fined £400, payable at £50 a month.