Court /

Driver tried to blame friend after crash

23 September 2026 14:24

A DRIVER who caused a crash and then blamed his friend has been told he was lucky to avoid being charged with perverting the course of justice.

Nathan Wilcock, 23, failed to show up at Lerwick Sheriff Court for his previous trial date earlier this month, having emailed the court before that the date “works well for me”.

He had previously intended to plead not guilty to failing to give police information about who was driving his car when it rear-ended another vehicle on 2 October 2025.

Wilcock gave the other driver his friend’s details at the scene and later wrote to the court to say it was his friend who was driving – even going as far as to provide his address.

However at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday, Wilcock – now of Tillicoultry – admitted to failing to give police information about the identity of the driver.

Wilcock was told that he was lucky he was not to be facing charges for dangerous driving, or for attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said it was “very difficult to get a straight answer to even the most straightforward” questions from Wilcock.

He said he appeared to be “fairly confused about a lot of things” and “genuinely confused” by the whole court process.

When questioned by Allan about his non-appearance for the trial this month, Allan said Wilcock had asked: “What’s a trial?”

Wilcock had only tried to hire a lawyer to represent him at 4pm on the day before his trial, the court heard.

Looking at the incident in question, procurator fiscal Duncan Mackenzie said Wilcock had crashed into the back of another car at about 5.40pm on 2 October.

Around £1,200 worth of damage was caused to the other car.

Wilcock gave the other driver false details at the scene, and when they searched that name, they soon realised it was not the driver who had crashed into them.

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They then reported the crash to the police.

When Wilcock, an offshore rigger and scaffolder, was contacted by police earlier this year he again refused that he had been the driver at the time.

The fiscal said Wilcock had come “perilously close” to being charged with perverting the course of justice.

Sheriff Harry Small read an excerpt of a letter Wilcock had sent to the court, in which he said the crash was “nothing to do with me”.

He provided the name and address of a friend who he said was driving at the time.

Allan reiterated his client’s confusion by the whole process, saying he had asked him if he was going to jail.

Sheriff Small said that while failing to give police correct details was “often not a serious charge”, this was a far more serious offence.

He said that if Wilcock had been charged with dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice then a custodial sentence would have been considered.

However he decided to ban Wilcock – who was already disqualified from driving – from the road for a period of 10 months.

Wilcock was also fined £850.

If you have been affected by crime, help is available. Whether you are victim, a witness, or the accused, you can find independent, impartial, and confidential support in Shetland.