CONFRONTED by a drink-drive suspect who would not do as she was told, PC Stuart Allan handcuffed the 61-year-old woman.

Not to have done so, the Magistrate’s Court heard, would have been a dereliction of his duty. But he had not arrested Rosemarie Holt, or even asked for a sample before the cuffs went on and that, said assistant-Magistrate Philip Robey, made it assault.

Allan, 41, care of police headquarters, had denied assaulting Mrs Holt who, it turned out, had consumed no alcohol at all.

Finding Allan guilty and imposing a £250 fine, Mr Robey said that the difficult situation had not been entirely of the officer’s making.

Advocate Clare Tee, for Allan, said her client honestly believed he was lawfully permitted to use handcuffs without arrest.

Mr Robey said that had Allan already asked for a breath test before cuffing her, it would have been the woman’s own fault. But he had not.