Court / Court round-up 29 October
A MAN has been banned from the road for 12 months and given a £700 fine after admitting a charge of dangerous driving which saw his minibus taxi end up in a ditch.
Andrew Bigland, of Mossbank, previously admitted driving at an excessive speed on Ladies Drive in Lerwick on 24 May when the road surface was wet and visibility was impaired by fog.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday how the 62-year-old was driving five passengers in a minibus on Ladies Drive before the vehicle clipped the verge and ended up overturned in a ditch, with some windows smashed.
One person had to be taken to hospital to receive 13 stitches for gashes.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said passengers had remarked that the driving left them feeling “uncomfortable”, with claims he was going over the speed limit.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said Bigland had a clean driving licence but accepts he was “going a bit too fast” for the conditions.
He said his client accepted that the disqualification, which requires an extended test of competence before the licence can be returned, would be an inevitable consequence.
A DRIVER whose car mounted a pavement and narrowly missed a pedestrian has been fined £500 and given five penalty points.
Roger Pascal, of Whiteness, pleaded guilty at Lerwick Sheriff Court by letter to driving at excessive speed in Dunrossness on 9 May, in consequence of which his car mounted the pavement.
Procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the incident had left the pedestrian, who was standing speaking to someone in their garden, “quite shaken”.
The fiscal said that when spoken to by police Pascal, 70, accepted the careless driving offence but said he could not remember it.
A MAN who embezzled nearly £2,000 from the Walls swimming pool association has been given another month to sort out a plan to pay back the money.
Regan Peggs, of 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 on Wednesday defence agent Tommy Allan said no progress had been made to date on repayment but there still remains the prospect of a house sale which could provide funds, while a new business venture is said to be picking up.
He said the 45-year-old’s plan was to pay a total of £3,000 to the independent swimming pool as a gesture of goodwill.
The case was adjourned to 19 November to allow Peggs a final opportunity to devise a payment plan.
A TEENAGER has been placed under supervision for 12 months for three offences including possession of cannabis and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner.
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on Wednesday how an intoxicated Dougray Bain, of Cunningsburgh, had to be talked down from the high walls at Fort Charlotte in the town by concerned police officers in the early hours of 18 May.
However, procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said the 19-year-old flailed his arms and shouted and swore at police officers after coming down. He was also found to be in possession of 7.4 grams of cannabis, which had a value of between £75 and £80.
Meanwhile Bain also pleaded guilty to spitting on the window of a home in Lerwick which was displaying an Israeli flag next to a Shetland flag.
This offence took place on 12 July and is said to have left the occupier of the home distressed after seeing the incident back on CCTV.
Defence agent Tommy Allan said Bain, who was intoxicated at the time, “was entitled to be offended, but he’s not entitled to spit”. He added that his client has faced a number of challenges in life including ones which affects impulsivity.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank also imposed a compensation order worth £500 for the spitting incident.
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