A BOOZED-up motorist claimed he was swerving about the road because he was eating a Chinese takeaway behind the wheel.

However, a breath test showed that 56-year-old James Brown, from Alloa, was more than three times over the limit.

Brown of Windsor Gardens, appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court for sentencing.

He admitted that on July 20 at Crown Gardens, Alloa and elsewhere, he drove a car having consumed excess alcohol.

His reading was 68 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the limit being 22 microgrammes.

Depute fiscal Sean Iles reports were made to police about the way a car was being driven.

Inquiries took them to Brown’s home and he had his excuse ready saying: “I was eating a Chinese, that’s why I swerved.”

Defence solicitor Kelly Howe said her client had lost his job, becoming isolated and depressed before turning to alcohol.

He started drinking every day and now has liver disease, she added.

Of the drink-driving she said: “He’s horrified by his actions.”

Sheriff Clair McLachlan banned Brown from driving for a year and imposed a restriction of liberty order for 11 weeks.