Court / Court round-up 11 March

A WOMAN accused of driving a mini-bus while using a mobile phone has been ordered that she cannot use sovereignty campaigner Stuart Hill as her legal counsel.

Sandra Jane Irvine, 62, denied using a phone while driving on the unclassified road between Robin’s Brae and Hillock in the South Mainland on 11 October 2025.

Initially both herself and Hill entered the court at Lerwick Sheriff Court today, but Sheriff Philip Mann left Hill in no doubt that he would not be part of proceedings.

Hill said he was her power of attorney, but Sheriff Mann told him to go back to the public benches and to “be quiet”.

The sheriff warned Hill that if he opened his mouth again he would be taken to the cells.

Irvine claimed that she wanted only to be addressed by the name of “Sandra”, and refused to answer whether she was the woman libelled on the charge.

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She presented three statements of uncontroversial evidence to the court, but procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie called them “nonsense” and the sheriff dismissed them.

Mackenzie also pointed out that Irvine had signed a letter from the court under the name “Sandra Jane Irvine”, adding she must be the person libelled.

A not guilty plea was recorded and a trial date was set for 14 May.

However Sheriff Mann warned Irvine not to bring Hill as her legal representative – “unless Mr Hill gets a law degree” in that time.

If Hill returned and disrupted the court again, the sheriff said he would find Irvine in contempt of court.

A FORTY four year old man who decided to drive his wife’s car in a “moment of madness” has been banned from the road for two years.

Kevin Hughson, from Lerwick’s Burgh Road, drove while six times the limit for cocaine and 16 times over the limit for benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – on 8 August last year.

Driving between South Road and Burgh Road in Lerwick, Hughson also had no valid driving licence and no insurance.

Hughson had previously pleaded guilty by letter, with the case returning to Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday for mitigation.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said Hughson’s wife had been admitted to hospital and asked him to collect some things for her.

In a “moment of madness” Hughson decided to take the car, Allan added.

Sheriff Philip Mann banned Hughson from driving for 24 months, and fined him a total of £700.

A WOMAN from Weisdale who drove with 13 times the legal limit for cocaine in her blood has been banned from the road.

Mellany Gorman, from Kalliness, admitted driving with 130 microgrammes of cocaine per litre of blood on 31 August last year between South Road and the Tesco car park.

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The 38-year-old was stopped by police in the early hours of the morning, at around 12.45am, and provided a positive saliva sample for drugs.

Defence agent Tommy Allan told Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday that Gorman had succumbed to a drug addiction at the time, which she was now receiving help for.

Sheriff Philip Mann said he believed driving under the influence of drugs was “equally as dangerous” as driving under the influence of alcohol.

He banned Gorman from driving for two years, and fined her £500.