Court / Dangerous joyride ends with driving ban and unpaid work

A TEENAGER from Brae with no driving experience who took her father’s car without consent for a joyride to Lerwick while almost twice the legal alcohol limit has been banned from the road and ordered to carry out unpaid work.

Kara Birrell appeared for sentencing at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday morning after pleading guilty to five motoring offences, including dangerous driving, at a court hearing last month.

The court heard how she and a female friend took the car on 2 January and set off to Lerwick in wintry conditions.

The 18-year-old had no clue how to drive and hence covered the distance of 23 miles in the first gear, the court was told.

At some time during the journey the front offside tyre came off the vehicle but Birrell, of Moorfield, carried on driving.

Police were alerted when the vehicle was seen swerving across the centre of the road and when sparks came off the wheel’s metal rim at various locations in Lerwick including Holmsgarth Road, Commercial Road and Burgh Road.

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Speaking in mitigation on Wednesday, defence solicitor Tommy Allan referred to a favourable social enquiry report which describes her as lacking maturity and not knowing when she had had enough to drink.

The solicitor added that her client was very remorseful and “genuinely shocked by her behaviour”.

Sentencing her, sheriff Ian Cruickshank said he hoped the 18-year-old appreciated how “ridiculous and dangerous” her driving had been and imposed a community payback order as a direct alternative to a custodial sentence.

As part of the order, Birrell will be under supervision for 15 months and has been told to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work over a 12-month period.

In addition, she has been disqualified from driving for 20 months and will only be allowed back on the roads again after having re-sat the extended test of competence.