A TAXI driver who was more than four times the legal limit was drinking alcohol on his journey back from a fare.
Thomas Middlemiss was negotiating a bend and struck a cyclist on the remote B7060 road near Selkirk on November 23.
The 60-year-old of The Terrace, St Boswells, was found to have a breath/alcohol count of 142 microgrammes - the legal limit being 35.
At Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday, defence lawyer Bruce Bett said his client was a first offender who was a contract taxi driver.
He said Middlemiss had been returning from a trip to Broughton and consumed alcohol in the car on the way back.
Mr Bett added that his client had lost his job as a result of the offence.
Sheriff Mochael Grady banned Middlemiss from the road for two years and fined him £500.
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