Perth body shop owner peed in police van after second drink-drive offence

A Perth businessman urinated in a police van after he was caught drink-driving for a second time.

Michael Paton drove down streets near his home while nearly four times the legal limit.

The 75-year-old director of Elder & Paton body repair shop was pulled over by police just weeks after getting his licence back following a previous year-long disqualification for a similar offence.

His plans for a winter holiday in Spain have been torpedoed after he was tagged and placed on a curfew.

Didn’t mean to pee

Paton appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving a silver Dacia Stepway on Burghmuir Road and Almond Grove at around midnight on September 12 with excess alcohol (81mics/ 22) in his system.

He also admitted engaging in threatening or abusive behaviour in the back of a police van on the A90, en route to custody in Dundee.

Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said he then “urinated within the vehicle”.

Solicitor Robin Beattie, defending, said his client had a good record until he was 73, when he turned to alcohol as a coping strategy following a bereavement.

He said the grandfather-of-four is semi-retired.

Paton told social workers he did not mean to urinate in the van.

Holiday ruined

Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC told Paton: “You have shown no insight into the harm you could have caused.

“It’s all the more concerning that you run a car body repair business and you of all people should be aware of the potential consequences of driving while under the influence of alcohol.”

Paton, of Almond Grove, was given a four-month restriction of liberty order.

He was also placed on supervision for six months and banned from driving for three years.

As he was being sentenced, Paton asked his solicitor about his upcoming Spanish holiday.

Mr Beattie said he did not intend to address the court about it.

“That’s wise,” said Sheriff Bain.

Paton last appeared in court in August 2023.

He pled guilty to driving a Mercedes while three-and-a-half times the legal limit after being reported by residents near the River Almond who heard a loud bang outside their property.

He was fined £600 and banned from driving for a year.

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