A driver who used his girlfriend’s car “like a weapon” when he knocked down a woman outside an Aberfeldy pub has been jailed.
Anthony Wilkins sped towards pedestrians while more than double the legal alcohol limit during the terrifying incident.
He reversed the Ford Focus at speed and struck a woman who was trying to get away, knocking her to the ground.
Perth Sheriff Court heard the drama followed a row with revellers at a local pub which spiralled out of control.
Wilkins, of Thatcham in West Berkshire, returned for sentencing, having previously admitted a charge of dangerous driving.
The 33-year-old appeared visibly shaken as he was jailed for 10 months.
No remorse
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC told him: “This was a terrible incident where you effectively used a car as a weapon and drove it at speed at pedestrians.
“However, I take account of the fact that you were not charged with assault.”
She said: “Although you have accepted responsibility by pleading guilty, you say you have no memory of the incident.
“You expressed remorse but that appears to be for the potential consequences for yourself.”
The sheriff added: “You have expressed no remorse or insight into the harm that must have been caused by your actions.
“It would have caused fear to those you drove towards but also to the public at large.”
Sheriff Bain said a Restriction of Liberty Order was not a sentencing option because “no consent had been given to set up equipment in your home.”
She told Wilkins: “The only way I can mark the seriousness of your behaviour is to impose a custodial sentence.”
Wilkins was also banned from driving for five years.
Car was ‘out of control’
The court earlier heard how Wilkins, his then-partner and a work colleague drove to a pub in Aberfeldy on the afternoon of January 23 2022.
Prosecutor Emma Farmer said there was a “disagreement” between Wilkins, his workmate and pub-goers.
“This went back and forth throughout the evening,” she said.
By 7pm, a group of people in an “agitated state” were seen gathered outside the Fountain Bar.
Wilkins got behind the wheel of his partner’s car, with his colleague in the passenger seat.
A witness described it being driven at speed, with its “wheels spinning, like it was out of control”.
A couple ran into an alleyway to avoid being struck.
Wilkins braked and then reversed at speed, striking the woman and throwing her to the ground.
The man pulled the woman up and they ran further down the alley.
Police were called and Wilkins was arrested after failing a breath test.
Pub row escalated
His solicitor Paul Ralph said: “Some of what happened that night is unclear.
“But what is clear is that he went out and difficulties started in one of the local pubs.
“It carried on and Mr Wilkins appears to act sensibly and gets his partner to move her car closer, so that they can leave the pub.
“But then he is not sure why he ends up behind the wheel and his partner is elsewhere.”
Mr Ralph said his client had since settled down with a new partner and was due to start work as a landscaper.
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