A drunken van driver attempted to ram a police car to escape from officers during an 18th birthday pursuit through Dundee.
Paul Blair was three times over the drink-drive limit as he smashed into parked cars and reversed at speed to get away from officers following his birthday party last month.
When they eventually got to him in Balmerino Road, police had to use CS spray to bring him under control and arrest him, Dundee Sheriff Court was told.
Blair was told by the sheriff that he could have been sent to detention for the March 1 rampage. He has also lost his job.
But Sheriff Elizabeth Munro ordered him to undertake 160 hours unpaid work in the community as an alternative.
Outlining the details of the case, depute fiscal Laura Bruce said a witness heard a bang outside his home at 11pm and looked out to see a white van swerving in the road.
He saw that his car had been damaged and contacted the police.
The white van then returned and the man attempted to open the door, at which point the driver made off at speed.
Police then saw the accused attempting to park the van and asked him to stop.
At that point, Ms Bruce said, the accused reversed the van at speed and struck three vehicles.
Police positioned a car to stop him and Blair then attempted to ram it in an effort to escape, she said. CS spray was then used to incapacitate him and he was arrested.
Blair was charged with attempting to ram the police vehicle however, there was no damage to the car, the court was told.
At a previous hearing, Sheriff McGowan deferred sentence for four weeks for reports and granted him bail.
Solicitor Nicola Brown told the court: “He was an apprentice fitter and this was a works vehicle. As a result of the offence he has lost that employment.”
Blair, 18, of Ballantrae Road, pleaded guilty to driving a van on Ballantrae Road and Balmerino Road, with 106 microgrammes of alcohol in his breath. The legal limit is 35 mics.
He admitted failing to stop when ordered to do so by police on Balmerino Road, reversing at speed, colliding with several parked cars and attempting to ram a police car in an effort to escape.
Sheriff Munro told Blair: “You were three times the limit and at 18 you must have been extremely drunk.
“The dangerous driving charge was extremely serious and as a result you will have to sit the extended driving test. You will also be disqualified from driving for 20 months.”
She added: “You have let yourself and your family very badly down. The sooner you get a job the better.”