A Dundee man who drove while over the drink limit has admitted crashing his car into a bollard before abandoning the vehicle and reporting it as stolen.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard that around 2.30am on September 21 Norman Simpson, 29, and another man were walking home and he went to pick up his car.
After getting petrol from the Tesco station on South Road he drove along Ancrum Road where he was involved in the collision.
An eyewitness asked if Simpson was all right but he ran off.
Simpson, of Main Street, Dundee, admitted on September 21 on Ancrum Road he drove after consuming so much alcohol that there were 60 microgrammes of alcohol recorded in 100 millilitres of his breath, when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes. He also admitted driving without insurance or the correct licence.
He further admitted that on the same date at Gardner Street he contacted the police and said the car had been stolen, knowing he had abandoned it in an attempt to pervert the course of justice.
He also admitted he drove the Renault Clio without due care and attention and collided with a traffic island.
Sheriff George Way deferred sentence until October 22 and remanded Simpson in custody.
Depute fiscal Laura Bruce said: “About 4am the accused rang 999 and said his car had been stolen. Police officers attended and he was quite agitated, saying his car had been stolen and driven off in the direction of Lochee.
“He said it had been stolen from Main Street and he had followed on foot all the way to Gardner Street, about a mile away.”
Mrs Bruce said the police had told Simpson the story did not seem plausible and when his passenger was traced he told officers Simpson had been at the wheel.
Simpson’s agent Ross Donnelly said the passenger was his client’s cousin who had expressed an interest in buying the car, which was a factor in getting into the vehicle.
“Matters took a turn for the worse when Mr Simpson collided with a traffic bollard,” Mr Donnelly said. “That’s when the seriousness of the situation came to him.”
Mr Donnelly described his client’s actions as a “pretty ham-fisted attempt” to get things back on the right track.
He said his client realised he had been “stupid” and “foolish” but he is a man who has made considerable attempts to turn his life around.
However, Sheriff Way said: “Mr Simpson is someone who takes very bad decisions in life.
“This is someone who was sentenced to 16 months for theft aggravated by attempting to pervert the course of justice. In order to protect the public I’m going to call for reports.”