Jail for Dundee man who did wheelie on motorbike, fell off and seriously injured himself

A reckless biker who seriously injured himself after performing a “wheelie” while children played nearby has been jailed.

Scot McDonald, 24, was warned by a sheriff that he was lucky he didn’t kill a group of youngsters on Glenconnor Drive when he performed the dangerous stunt last summer.

McDonald required an operation after he came flying off the motocross-style bike and rolled around 30ft, leaving him “screaming in pain”.

Dundee Sheriff Court heard that police were in the area on an unrelated matter when they spotted McDonald, who was banned from driving at the time, standing upright on the bike and driving at speeds of up to 60mph.

Depute fiscal Laura Bruce said: “The accused began to perform a wheelie manoeuvre. He lost control of the bike, it flipped repeatedly and resulted in him coming off.

“He rolled about 20 to 30ft screaming in pain and crawled to the pavement.

“The front of his shoe was ripped off, his toes were protruding and he was bleeding.”

There were children aged between six and eight playing on bikes and scooters on the street at the time of the offence.

McDonald, of Blacklock Crescent, pleaded guilty to driving dangerously at excessive speed for the road conditions, in a built-up area, driving with his front wheel lifted from the ground, losing control of the motorbike and falling off the motorbike on June 17 last year.

Solicitor Ross Donnelly said his client had been showing his parents the work he had done in building the bike and admitted that his client was “showing off”.

He said McDonald considered repairing bikes as one of his hobbies, which prompted Sheriff Alastair Brown to quip: “Has he ever considered growing tomatoes? It might be safer for everyone.”

Mr Donnelly added: “To some extent I would hope a lesson and a valuable lesson has been learned with the pain and discomfort that he has been put through.”

Jailing him for nine months and banning him from the roads for 32 months, Sheriff Brown said: “It is simply good fortune that you did not kill children.”

A visibly stunned McDonald could be seen sobbing in the dock, saying “please, man” before lobbing an item behind the dock and into the public gallery.