John Reid had been going to get a take-away for his bowling club

John Reid, 32, from Hamilton, was almost three times over the drink-drive limit when he was stopped in Perth.

He was so drunk he could not remember anything about being chased and caught by officers from Tayside Police.

Reid was suspended from duty following the incident last June. Police chiefs will now decide if he should be sacked.

The officer was also fined �500.

At Perth Sheriff Court, Reid admitted drink-driving on the town's Scott Street, Canal Street and Princes Street on 27 June last year.

He had been going to fetch a take-away for his bowling club team-mates.

The Crown accepted a not guilty plea to a charge of dangerous driving by failing to comply with signs and a red light, and going the wrong way on a one-way street.

Solicitor Nicky Matteo, defending, said his client initially suspected he might have a defence of automatism - because he could not remember what happened.

The officers involved found it difficult to get much sense out of him, but he did say he was on his way to get a carry-out to eat Tayside Police source

"He had no recollection of being stopped by the police and the first he knew of the situation was when he was in the cells," Mr Matteo told the court.

"He has been suspended on full pay of �1,300 a month. He has been paying most of that towards debt problems in the marriage.

"He is effectively living off his wife's income. She is a domestic and earns �240 a month."

The court was told that Reid had been seeking help for his alcohol abuse.