Mums and toddlers were forced to scatter and even dive for safety as a learner driver careered from pavement to pavement.
Steven Bell had only taken a handful of lessons but in an act of “crass stupidity” he jumped behind the wheel on December 4.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard the 27-year-old lost control after taking a corner at excessive speed.
Mounting a pavement just yards from his home in St Boswells Terrace, he sent a mother and her five-year-old son running in terror to avoid being struck.
Bell’s efforts to correct his steering and bring his vehicle back under control succeeded only in throwing it across the road and on to the opposite pavement.
There he narrowly missed striking a second mother, her 10-year-old daughter and her three-year-old son, who was in a buggy.
The court heard they would have been powerless to avoid being struck had the car not swerved back into the road in front of them.
Sheriff Lorna Drummond told Bell: “It is only by sheer luck that you did not injure anyone, particularly when there were so many young children around.
Once he had regained control of his car, Bell drove on a short distance and parked outside his house, where he was approached by the two women he had so nearly mown down.
The court was told that he had apologised and claimed that his vehicle had “locked up”, causing him to lose control.
Witnesses did not believe his excuse, however, and swiftly called the police. Officers attended and he repeated his story about his steering locking, claiming that he had been unable to avoid hitting the pavements.
Bell subsequently pled guilty to driving dangerously and causing pedestrians to take evasive action to avoid being struck.
He also admitted to driving without a licence and without insurance.
The accused’s solicitor said his client appreciated the stupidity of his actions.
He said: “Mr Bell has explained to me that a major contributing factor in this was his lack of experience behind the wheel.
“He had a provisional licence but had only taken about 10 lessons.
“He cannot explain why he was behind the wheel other than crass stupidity.”
Bell will return to court for sentencing next month. He was disqualified from driving in the interim.