CUFF LUCK; Drunk driver knocks on policeman's door for help.

Byline: By RON MOORE

A DRUNK who drove his van off a remote Highland road picked the wrong door to knock on for a lift into the nearest village.

Darren Sutherland, 27, from Ding-wall, banged on the door of the Craiglea Bed and Breakfast near Mallaig, waking the couple who lived there.

He told John Bryden, 40, who answered the door, that he was "a bit drunk" and had smashed his van adding, "Don't tell the bobbies" before asking for a lift.

John Bryden told Sutherland to wait a couple of minutes while he went upstairs to get dressed. Then he came back down - in his full police uniform.

The Hamish MacBeth-style policeman handcuffed Sutherland before putting him into his police car - hidden from view at the side of the house. Yesterday PC Bryden said: "The guy got the fright of his life. I charged him there and then under Section 4 of the Road Traffic Act, and to be fair to him he let me put the cuffs on and came without a struggle.

"I held onto him until two of my colleagues came from Fort William to officially arrest him. He spent the night in the cells to help him sober up."

PC Bryden added: "It's really remote up here, the middle of nowhere. I've been the local policeman for 16 years as well as the wildlife protection officer. I also help with mountain rescue. My wife is the postmistress and we also run a B&B."

PC Bryden, who has three children, said that Sutherland, a construction worker got into his van drunk and ran it off the road.

Inspector Douglas Allan of Fort William police said that although the case could be seen as humourous it was a serious matter and highlighted the need for people to avoid drink-driving.

He said: "The guy's van was blocking the road round a sharp bend. This could have caused a serious accident.

"The roads in the Highlands are not the best and we have problems with people speeding."

Last week Sutherland appeared at Fort William Sheriff Court where he admitted driving while being three times over the drink-drive limit.

The court was told two passing motorists found Sutherland's van abandoned off the A830, blocking the road with its lights on and keys in the ignition.

A short distance away a man was seen staggering. He demanded a lift into nearby Lochailort but the couple refused and drove off, later calling the police.

Procurator Fiscal Alison Whyte told the court Sutherland had won the "no luck of the day award".

He was fined pounds 500 and disqualified from driving for 18 months.

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