Talented Scots musician and chef caught drug driving in £30k Merc while uninsured

A talented Scottish musician and chef was caught driving his £30,000 Mercedes-Benz without insurance while under the influence of two different drugs.

Ruairidh MacDougall was also found to be in possession of the banned substances - and three other kinds of illegal narcotics - when stopped by police.

The bassist - who played for indie band Brownbear, who supported Paolo Nuitni, The View and The Libertines - could now be jailed over the crimes.

MacDougall, who has boasted about the car in question on social media, was banned from driving at Paisley Sheriff Court on Friday after pleading guilty to eight charges.

The 38-year-old, who has worked at a Michelin starred restaurant in Glasgow and describes himself as a "Renaissance Man" online, was nearly three-times the ketamine driving limit on July 10 last year.

MacDougall, who played with Brownbear as they supported crack cocaine and heroin addict Pete Doherty's The Libertines on a European tour, had 57 microgrammes of ketamine per litre of blood.

The limit is 20mcg.

Ketamine is a powerful dissociative anesthetic which is used as a recreational drug because it can induce a trance-like state and cause users to feel detached from their environment

He was also found to be more than 50% over the limit for THC - the psychoactive compound found in cannabis - on the day in question, in Paisley's Renfrew Road.

He had 3.1 microgrammes of THC per litre of blood, when the limit is 2mcg.

He also admitted being in possession of ketamine and cannabis, and three other drugs - synthetic benzodiazepine Bromazolam, cocaine and etizolam - which is commonly sold as valium.

And he pleaded guilty to driving the black Mercedes-Benz A 180 AMG Line Executive without being insured to do so.

MacDougall, of Moodiesburn, North Lanarkshire, had pleaded guilty via letter previously and the case had been continued for him to appear in court.

When he appeared before Sheriff Thomas Millar on Friday, the case against him was adjourned for background reports to be prepared.

Sheriff Millar banned him from driving meantime and called for a criminal justice social work report and restriction of liberty order assessment to be carried out.

MacDougall, who has also worked as a chef, will return to court next month to be sentenced.

He keeps his social media followers informed on his gigs, employment and progress with his fitness regimes.

In one Instagram post the bassist, who played with Brownbear as they supported The View on a Scottish tour,boasted about his car.

He posted a picture of the vehicle and said: "Mercedes A Class AMG Performance. Absolute machine. Feels like a racing simulator inside."

He also told how he had played at T In The Park, at a festival in Switzerland, and supported The Libertines at Glasgow's iconic Barrowlands Ballroom as well as on their European Tour.

And he posted gym pictures, body snaps and photos of supplements as he told how he was trying to transform himself physically.

In one post he wrote: "Bulks gonna be insane. Nae gear, all natty. Feel like foie gras with the surplus though."

In another social media bost, he posted a selfie from a JD Gym and wrote: " Whilst most are sleeping I'm in putting the work in. 

"Cut's going well. Bulks gonna be insane. This is my base physique....I'm just growing now. Going for the greek statue aesthetic.

"All men should throw away their TV/PS5/Xbox and level themselves up. Life's short. Never seek comfort."

His Facebook page states he worked as a Commis Chef at the Michelin star awarded Glasgow restaurant Cail Bruich, a Demi CDP / Pastry chef at Mamasan, Demi Chef de Partie at The Finnieston Bar & Restaurant, and Pastry Chef / Commis Chef at The Corinthian, in Glasgow.

He also said he worked as Head chef at Brooklyn Diner, Commis Chef at Church on the Hill, Head Chef at Drumpellier Golf Club, and Chef de Partie / Pastry/ Pizza chef at Òran Mór.