Learner driver in ‘bit of a panic’ fled from police

An uninsured learner driver who panicked and took flight from police in Arbroath has been banned from driving for six months.

Unemployed Gavin Bushnell raised the suspicions of officers on routine patrol when he stopped about 10 metres away from a junction on the town’s Cairnie Road shortly before midnight on March 29.

The police approached 45-year-old Bushnell’s Ford Fiesta but, as they did so, he accelerated away.

Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said despite the police car having its blue lights on, Bushnell, of James Street, Arbroath, drove for about a mile before stopping.

“He attempted to run away but didn’t get very far,” she added.

Defence solicitor Ian Flynn said the accused held a provisional licence and insurance but had “foolishly” taken a friend’s car and that had put him in breach of the law.

The car, he told the court, has been scrapped.

“It was a bit of a panic. He exceeded the 30mph limit but didn’t ever reach a speed that could be described as dangerous,” Mr Flynn added.

Bushnell, who admitted driving in Cairnie Road without L-plates or insurance, at excessive speed and failing to stop, was also fined a total of £400.