A banned speeder from Angus has been fined after getting behind the wheel to take his mum home from the shops.
Offshore worker Gary Stewart was handed an 18 month disqualification last year after a 110mph police chase in Perthshire.
However, he admitted driving while less than halfway through that ban as he headed back to the home he shares with his mother in Maryton.
Fiscal depute Stephanie Hendry told Forfar Sheriff Court: “At 3.50pm on February 2 2023, police were carrying out speed checks when they observed a blue Honda driving towards them from the Forfar direction.
“They recognised the vehicle as being associated with the accused who is a known disqualified driver.
“The accused was signalled to stop. He was found to be the driver with his mother in the front passenger seat.”
Defence solicitor Nick Markowski explained his mother had driven the pair into Forfar to get shopping but had fallen ill there.
He said: “She does have significant health issues. She was unable to drive, she had a panic attack.
“That’s why he made the decision to drive and got about two miles from Forfar.
Mr Markowski said his client’s mother had suffered a what was believed to be a blood clot.
He added: “The current disqualification is due to expire on February 1 2024. He’s got a requirement to resit his test.
“Because of his mother’s ill health, he’s been working less recently.
“This was completely unplanned.”
Sheriff Krista Johnston fined Stewart, of Third Row in Maryton, £660.
She banned the 56-year-old for a further 16 months.
The sheriff said: “You’ve heard me make reference to your record as an appalling record of road traffic convictions.
“You’re persistently driving too fast.
“Now you’re before the court for, on one view, a more serious offence.
“Be very clear, if you have a second conviction, that will be entirely eloquent of a man who pays no heed to the court.”
Teen’s trauma after van driver convicted
A van driver who blacked out before mowing down two schoolgirls on a rural Perthshire road has been found guilty of dangerous driving.
But the crucial legal question of why 73-year-old Ronald Craik became unconscious remains unsolved.
Jurors returned a not proven verdict to an allegation that he fell asleep behind the wheel.
Lawyers for Craik had argued that he fainted, meaning he wasn’t criminally responsible for the crash.
He was further cleared of driving at excessive speed and into the path of an oncoming car.
Members of the public gallery – where friends and family of the two girls were sitting – broke down in tears when the not proven verdict was read out.
Ellie Sinclair, who was 15 at the time, spent 36 hours on a ventilator in intensive care, before being transferred to a paediatric high dependency unit for five days.
Her mother told The Courier how she had been left with devastating “life-changing” injuries which could affect her future employment.
She said “the roads are safer” now that Craik has lost his licence.
Learner’s illegal test drive
A learner motorist caught driving a motorbike carelessly was “just taking it for a test drive”.
Shaun Smart, 39, had been carrying out repair work on the KTM machine, which he wanted to use to commute from his home in Lindores Drive, Kirkcaldy to Edinburgh Airport.
He was caught by police on Kirkcaldy’s Tummel Drive on April 27 last year.
Fiscal depute Lee-Anne Barclay told Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court: “The rider was unaccompanied and appeared to be travelling in excess of 30mph.”
Smart admitted driving carelessly on a provisional licence without displaying L-plates and without insurance.
Smart’s solicitor said: “He commutes between home and Edinburgh and purchased the motorcycle with the intention of using it for his commute.
“He had been carrying out repairs and went on a test drive.”
He stated Smart had completed a compulsory basic training course some years before.
Sheriff Timothy Niven-Smith fined him £400
Reckless with an air gun
A Rosyth man has admitted endangering a young girl by firing an airsoft gun out of his window.
Dylan De Ridder appeared at Dunfermline Sheriff Court to admit recklessly discharging an airgun on March 18 last year.
The 25-year-old fired the gun from a ground floor window in his home in Peasehill Fauld.
This put a man and his young daughter in danger, the court heard.
De Ridder’s lawyer Zander Flett said: “It’s not a powerful weapon.
“It was extremely stupid.
“He’s fully appreciative of the charge.”
Sheriff Susan Duff deferred sentence for background reports to be prepared.
The sheriff noted her surprise that the case was being prosecuted at summary level.
She told the first offender: “This is a serious charge.”
Bingo caller with extreme porn
A bingo caller who was caught with extreme porn has been ordered to carry out 240 hours unpaid work and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for three years.
Drama student Fraser Thomson claimed he had the material because he was “a people pleaser” and wanted to use it to impress another man he liked.
Thomson was caught with the sickening haul of child and extreme pornography material when police raided his home in the wake of a confidential tip-off.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown placed him on the Moving Forward Making Changes programme and restricted his internet use and contact with children under 16. She placed him under supervision for three years.
Borrowed car
A learner motorcyclist caught driving without insurance had “borrowed the car from his girlfriend”.
Sean Nicol, 19, Beattie Crescent, Kirkcaldy, was also found to be driving on a provisional licence without displaying L-plates on February 22 this year.
Officers spotted the black Ford Focus on his street at around 4.40am with four people inside, including Nicol.
He admitted both charges and was fined £200 and given six penalty points, resulting in an automatic disqualification under the totting up process.
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