Drunk aristocrat drives to detox

The court heard that Bovill was on her way to a detox clinic

A drunken aristocrat spent two nights behind bars after defying a driving ban to set out on a 450-mile trip to a drying-out clinic, a court has heard.

Katrina Bovill was nearly four times the legal alcohol limit when her car was stopped by the police on the A9.

The 36-year-old artist admitted being drunk at the wheel, driving while disqualified, and not having insurance.

Sheriff James Gilmour warned Bovill he was considering a prison term, but deferred sentence for six months.

Bovill - whose brother-in-law is the Earl of Hopetoun - had a reading of 127 mics, nearly four times the legal limit of 35 mics, when she was stopped on 25 May.

She was already serving a six-month driving ban for a series of speeding offences.

Perth Sheriff Court was previously told that while Bovill was being held in custody she was missing the start of a residential five-week alcohol detox programme.

In a letter to court, Eileen Derricutt of Life Works said: "Katrina Bovill is booked into Life Works and we were expecting her to arrive between 1 and 2pm on 26 May.

This could well lead to a custodial sentence so the court will require reports Sheriff James Gilmour

"I now understand she was detained on her way to Life Works by the police. She is booked in for a five-week treatment programme.

"Life Works would strongly recommend that the court allows Katrina to come to Life Works in order for her to gain the treatment she so desperately needs."

Bovill's solicitor asked the court to grant his client bail with a special condition that she be allowed to attend the drying-out clinic.

He told the court that her father - Major Bristow Bovill - was with her in court and was about to take her to the Surrey clinic.

Sheriff Gilmour told her: "You have pled guilty to driving with more than three times the permitted level of alcohol in your bloodstream and while disqualified. This could well lead to a custodial sentence so the court will require reports."