A JOHNSTONE man was left so high after being exposed to potentially-deadly fake valium that he was found slumped at the wheel of his £70,000 car.

Eric Reid, who runs a garage in Paisley, was spotted by worried passers-by in the town’s Albion Street on March 30 last year.

He told them, as well as medics who arrived at the scene, he was unable to drive because he had been exposed to Etizolam on an “industrial scale”.

The details emerged last week when father-of-five Reid, of Blackwood Terrace, Johnstone, appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to admit his guilt.

The 44-year-old had been charged with driving his car while unfit to do so through drink or drugs but he struck a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a reduced charge of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit to do so through drink or drugs, contrary to Section 4(2) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Procurator fiscal depute Frank Clarke told the court Reid was spotted at the wheel of his BMW M5 saloon at about 6pm on the evening in question.

He said: “Passers-by observed the engine was running and they were concerned, given Mr Reid seemed to be slumped over the steering wheel.

“Thereafter, the police were called, the paramedics and an ambulance, and Mr Reid was taken to hospital.

“At that time, a doctor determined, on her examination, he was unfit to drive.”

Advocate Tony Lenaghan, representing Reid, hinted his client had been mixing the Etizolam when he was affected by the drug, which was legal at the time but has since been banned.

And he said Reid, who had three points on his driving licence already, was requesting a special reasons hearing and exceptional hardship hearing, in a bid to remain on the roads.

The offence Reid admitted can lead to a roads ban or 10 points being imposed, which would mean he would lose his licence through totting up procedures.

A special reasons proof allows the court to consider not banning a driver or imposing points on their license, depending upon their reasons for breaking the law, while an exceptional hardship proof addresses the effect a ban will have on them.

Mr Lenaghan said: “He is the registered automobile examiner of an MOT station and within that, in a business sense, is obligated to drive and test vehicles. He is the designated person to whom the government turn, within that business.

“The drug involved was called Etizolam. On March 30, 2016, it was an uncontrolled drug – it is an analogue of diazepam.

“It was manufactured in the Paisley area and this man had contact with it at an industrial level, not for the purposes of abusing it.”

Sheriff Craig Harris adjourned the case for further hearings and opted not to ban Reid from driving.

He told Reid: “Given what’s been said, I won’t make any interim disqualification order at this time.”