Published: Wednesday, 24th June, 2009 2:07pm

Drink driver had child in back of car

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A DAD was caught driving home drunk from a family gathering with a 10-month-old child crawling round the back seat of his car.

Roland Berki (32), of Moir Street, Alloa, was nearly two-and-a-half times the legal limit when stopped by police at 9.10pm on Easter Sunday.

Susan Ruta, prosecuting, said the attention of officers from Central Scotland Police was drawn to Berki"s Renault Megane in Tullibody Road, Alloa, because of the unrestrained child in the back seat.

The depute fiscal said, 'They stopped the car to give the accused advice about the child being unrestrained, and immediately noticed a strong smell of alcohol.

'He was also unsteady on his feet and his speech was slurred.'

He failed a roadside breath test, and was arrested and taken to Stirling Police Station while a woman who was with him looked after the child.

At the police station he gave a sample of breath which proved on analysis to contain 85 microgrammes of alcohol in every tenth of a litre – 2.43 times the legal limit of 35.

At Stirling Sheriff Court on Tuesday, Berki, a kitchen porter from Hungary, pleaded guilty to drink driving.

Stephen Maguire, defending, said Berki was employed at a Perthshire hotel, and would have trouble getting to and from work following the inevitable loss of his licence.

Mr Maguire said, 'He had been at a cousin"s house and alcohol had been taken. It was a gross error of judgement for him to get behind the wheel of a car, but it would appear to be out of character for him.'

Sheriff Dan Kelly fined Berki £500 and disqualified him from driving for two years.

He said, 'This was a high reading and I also take account of the fact that you were driving in circumstances where you had a child in the car who was unrestrained.

'There was clearly a danger of injury to yourself and others.'