A wealthy garage owner who was caught drink driving in a customer's Audi Quattro has been cleared of theft - after claiming he was just taking it on a test drive.

Jhalman Rai, 66, was stopped by police in the A5 Coupe just before midnight after they watched him drive 'erratically' on the way back from the pub to his £1.1m home.

A court heard that after getting caught, the business owner told officers he was 'road testing' the 150mph motor, and despite having slurred speech and being unsteady on his feet he insisted he had only drunk two pints.

Rai claimed to be 'genuinely baffled' at the suggestion he was doing anything wrong by driving the car, and he insisted he 'had' to test drive it that evening or else he would not know if the vehicle had been fixed.

Daily Echo: Jhalman Rai at Southampton Magistrates' Court.Jhalman Rai at Southampton Magistrates' Court. (Image: Solent News & Photo Agency)

Now, the garage owner has been cleared by magistrates, who dismissed prosecutors' claims that he had taken the Audi without the owner's consent.

Southampton Magistrates' Court heard that owner Albi Asimi dropped the car for repairs at Rai's city garage - J S Autos - on July 24 last year.

Rai - who has since retired from business - bought it in 1980 having been in the industry since 1973.

Prosecuting, Varun Chuni told the court the car had a fuel leak, and it would take several days to repair.

Late in the evening of August 4, police pulled over Rai after they watched him 'driving erratically' on a Southampton road.

In a statement read to the court, PC Russell Tribe added: "I noticed the vehicle veer suddenly onto the wrong side of the road."

PC Tribe stopped Rai and asked him to exit the vehicle. He said the garage owner was 'unable to maintain a straight line' and his 'speech appeared slurred'.

He added: "As he exited the vehicle, he was unsteady on his feet."

Rai told PC Tribe he worked at J S Autos and was 'road testing' the car.

The officer arrested and charged him with drunk driving and theft, adding: "I found it highly unlikely for the customer to allow their vehicle to be road tested at that time of night while under the influence of alcohol."

The following morning, Mr Asimi arrived at the garage to collect his car.

He told the court: "I went on the Saturday and the car wasn't there. I asked where the car was and they said it wasn't there.

"I waited a bit and they said go home and we will give you a call. I got home, then the police knocked on my door.

"They said someone was caught drink driving."

Mr Asimi said he was 'annoyed' when he found out Rai had driven his car whilst drunk.

He added: "It annoyed me but at the same time, it didn't surprise me because I thought where else could it be."

The car owner understood the vehicle would likely be test driven - but said he didn't expect for it to be taken to the pub.

Mr Asimi added: "It wasn't an agreement to take it out for personal use - to take it to the pub.

"I was told that it got taken home all the way to Botley.

"I was told that he had taken it home for the test drive."

When he was caught, Rai was making the seven mile journey from his garage to his home in Botley, Hants.

On the way back, it was heard he met a friend at 5 Rivers Sports Bar in Southampton.

Police found he had exceeded the drink driving limit, testing for 59 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

Rai insisted he hadn't drunk much, adding: "I thought I had two pints tops, then a lime and soda.

"I don't know if something was put in it. That's what I think - there was the football going on."

Facing a charge of theft, Rai insisted he did not think he was doing anything wrong as he believed he had the owner's consent to road test the car.

He told the court: "The road test has got to be driven. He was going to collect it the next day so I had to test it.

"I can't tell without driving it whether the leak has been fixed."

Defending the business owner, Nick Robinson, added: "The test drive took place the day before [Mr Asimi] was due to collect the car.

"[Rai] was genuinely baffled at the suggestion that he was acting outside of the consent of the owner.

"He genuinely thought he wasn't doing anything wrong.

"[Rai] was doing what he was doing because as this was a necessary way to make sure the leak had stopped. This was a genuine road test."

Mr Robinson added: "No disrespect to the Audi car, but it's not like it was a Rolls Royce that he was taking out for a pleasure spin."

Mr Chuni, said: "This was still a business relationship and there was never any discussion about what could be done with that car.

"The defendant went beyond any consent by driving it at that time, out of hours."

Rai pleaded guilty to drink driving but denied taking the vehicle without the owner's consent and was cleared of that charge by magistrates.

In regards to his drink driving charge, he has been disqualified from driving for 40 months and will has been ordered to pay the court a total of £785.