Court / Embezzler given more time to pay back money but banned from driving

A FORMER solicitor who embezzled almost £2,000 from the Walls swimming pool committee and was caught drink-driving twice in five days has been sentenced.

Regan Peggs, from Walls, had previously admitted stealing £1,996.01 from the pool committee while acting as treasurer between 1 December 2022 and 28 March 2024.

At Lerwick Sheriff Court today (Wednesday), the 45-year-old also admitted driving while over the legal limit for alcohol on both 20 and 24 September.

Peggs was found to have 70 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of urine on 20 September at the Walls marina, following a report from a concerned member of the public.

And four days later, another member of the public raised concerns which saw police stop Peggs on the A970 main road between Lerwick and Voe.

They found he had 174 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of urine on this occasion.

Peggs had failed to appear at court on his previous two appearances, leading for an arrest warrant to be issued.

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However solicitor Tommy Allan said Peggs had been ill when his case had last called on 11 June, which had led to his non-appearance.

Peggs’ solicitor business in England had been liquidated following difficulties during Covid, the court was told, and his marriage had also come to an end.

That led to him ending up in a “particularly low place”, Allan said.

Peggs had thought he would be under the limit during the first offence, he said, but there was “no real excuse for the second”.

“Things were effectively crumbling around him,” Allan added.

Peggs had since improved his mental health and was in a better place, his solicitor said.

However the court heard that Peggs had not been able to repay the money owed to the Walls swimming pool committee, after being given almost two months to do so.

The court had deferred sentencing on Peggs on 8 May to allow for the money to be paid back.

But Allan said “simply can’t find the money at the moment” to get it paid in full.

Peggs was in the process of trying to sell his house, Allan said, and would “easily” be able to pay the sum back once that went through.

Sheriff Ian Cruickshank agreed to continue deferring sentencing of Peggs for four months to allow him to pay back the full £1,996.01 to the pool committee.

He also fined Peggs a total of £1,050 with regards to the two drink-driving offences, and banned him from the road for 20 months.

Peggs can reduce the ban by five months if he completes the drink-driver rehabilitation course.