Accused was four times the legal limit court hears
A four-times-the-limit drinks driver has been fined £500 and banned for 16 months.
James Sutherland, 55, admitted the offence at Wick Sheriff Court.
He was caught by police at the junction of the A9 with Neil Gunn Road, Dunbeath village, on July 27.
Tests revealed that Sutherland had a breath-alcohol level of 147mgs. The legal limit is 35mgs.
The court was told that the accused had turned his life around and was so highly regarded by his employers, that they had funded his legal representation.

A motion by David Barclay, prosecuting, for forfeiture of the car Sutherland, of The Willows, Dunbeath, was driving at the time, was rejected by Sheriff Andrew Berry after he learned that it belonged to someone else. The accused had had the use of it at the time.