Call for 'zero tolerance' of drink-driving after couple's killer jailed

• Kenneth Gibson, centre, with Gibson and Massie family members yesterday Picture: Ciaran Donnelly

Alistair Ferrier, 30, was nearly three times the legal alcohol limit when he ploughed head-on into John and Isobella Gibson's car as they returned from a country dancing event.

He got behind the wheel despite having been refused alcohol in a pub earlier because he was too drunk.

Mr Gibson, 69, and his 68-year-old wife died at the scene of the crash on the A92 near Montrose, Angus, shortly before Christmas two years ago.

Ferrier, of St Thomas Crescent, Arbroath, had admitted that his dangerous driving caused their "tragic and senseless" deaths on 14 December, 2008.

He was jailed for nine years by the High Court in Edinburgh for what the judge described as a "very bad case of causing death by dangerous driving".

Speaking after the hearing, the couple's son Kenneth Gibson said he was glad Ferrier is behind bars.

"The judge has done what he could do and we just have to accept it," he said.

"It'll never be long enough, but at least he's doing time. That's what he deserves."

Surrounded by family members, Mr Gibson said: "We're all close and we've always been close, and we've all dealt with this in our different ways. It's been a really hard experience. I'd never want anybody to go through it."

Mr Gibson, 49, insisted people should not be allowed to consume alcohol if they want to get behind the wheel.

He said: "It should be zero tolerance on drink-driving. If I'm going for a night out, either my wife or I have to drive and one of us doesn't drink - that's just the way it is. We appreciate we've got a driving licence and we want to keep it."

The court heard previously that Ferrier, who suffers from a nervous condition, had been drinking in a bar in Montrose prior to the crash.

After he left, he smashed his car head-on into Mr and Mrs Gibson's vehicle as they returned from a country dancing event in Arbroath.

The couple, from Montrose, were pronounced dead at the scene. Gertrude Massie, 71, a passenger in their car, suffered life-threatening injuries.

Ferrier was cut from his Vauxhall Astra and suffered multiple fractures.

Temporary judge Edward Bowen QC jailed Ferrier for nine years and disqualified him from driving for 15 years.

The judge said of Ferrier's case: "It involves the tragic and senseless deaths of two innocent individuals and the serious and permanent injury to a third, brought about entirely because of your total disregard for the safety of others. You have a background of disobeying the road traffic laws, having been disqualified from driving on no fewer than four occasions."

The court heard that tests revealed Ferrier had around 220 milligrams of alcohol in his system per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

"This was, in short, a piece of drunken uncontrolled driving," the judge told Ferrier.

Defence QC Mhairi Richards said Ferrier offered his "sincere apologies" to the Gibsons' loved ones.