STAFF AT a Perth impound yard were forced to dive for safety as an irate motorist staged a high speed break-out, the city’s sheriff court heard yesterday.

One man was struck by Andrew Robert Miller’s Citroen Saxo as he fled the garage with a second colleague clinging on to the car in a vain attempt to halt the escape.

The 22-year-old’s vehicle had earlier been towed on the orders of Perth and Kinross Council parking attendants.

Miller, a chef from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, had racked-up 15 unpaid fixed penalty fines—£900 worth—as a result of parking misdemeanours committed when he lived in Perth.

And after spotting his car within the Speygate car park in the city centre, the attendants contacted Chisholm Recovery Services to have the vehicle taken away.

That decision enraged Miller to the extent that police officers had to become involved to calm him.

Three days later however—rather than simply make good on the fines and pay to recover the car—he decided to make-off with the vehicle, despite the best efforts of Chisholm’s staff to stop him.

Yesterday, Sheriff Michael Fletcher viewed black and white CCTV footage, taken from the recovery yard in Perth’s Shore Road, which showed Miller making his break for freedom.

He was seen to enter the yard and then drive off at speed in the souped-up Saxo.

The footage showed him weaving through Chisholm’s employees, with one grabbing on to the vehicle in a fruitless bid to force it to stop.

A second witness was then clipped by the car and fell to the ground as the vehicle careered into Shore Road.

Though the witness attempted to move out of the way to avoid a collision, he was clipped by the car, causing him to spin and fall to the ground.

Fortunately neither man was injured.

Police officers later traced Miller at his then home address and conveyed him to Perth police office where he admitted having been the driver of the vehicle.

Days earlier other officers had been forced to intervene as Miller took action to prevent his car being towed away in the first place.

Chisholm’s were loading the car onto a low-loader when the accused returned to the Speygate car park and began to take issue with the uplifting.

Depute fiscal John Malpass told the court that after verbally abusing parking attendants and recovery staff he had climbed onto the flatbed and entered his car.

Efforts to reason with him failed and it took the attendance of passing police officers to coax the accused from his vehicle.

The vehicle was then towed away, while the accused was warned by the officers about his conduct.

Miller made no effort to recover the car until three days later when he entered the yard without permission and made-off with the vehicle.

The accused, of Bridge Park, Templepatrick, County Antrim, but formerly of South William Street, Perth, had been scheduled to appear for trial before the sheriff and a jury.

However, Miller, who was 21 at the time of the incidents, eventually pled guilty to two charges.

He admitted that at the Speygate car park on February 12 last year, he conducted himself in a disorderly manner, shouted and swore, climbed onto the recovery vehicle and entered his car, refused to get off the vehicle, placed people in a state of fear and alarm and committed a breach of the peace.

Miller also pled guilty to the offence at the recovery yard in Shore Road on February 15. He admitted culpably and recklessly driving a car; failing to give due regard to the safety of others and driving the vehicle at speed while one witness was holding onto the vehicle, causing him to fall to the ground; causing the wheels to spin; swerving the vehicle from side to side and causing it to strike another witness and finally, failing to stop, causing a third man to take evasive action.

Miller will return to Perth from Northern Ireland on April 9 after Sheriff Fletcher deferred sentence for reports.

The sheriff warned the accused that he could face being disqualified from driving as a result of his offences.

Miller was previously banned from the road for twelve months and fined £200 at County Antrim Magistrates Court in August 2005 in connection with a dangerous driving charge.