An apprentice surveyor rolled his friend’s car onto its roof while he was searching for his lost wallet during an ill-fated camping trip.
Jake McCreadie, 21, was standing by the upturned car when police arrived and discovered he was over the drink drive limit.
Sheriff Neil Bowie banned McCreadie from driving for 12 months and fined him £800 when he appeared at Perth Sheriff Court.
The sheriff said: “This was extremely reckless behaviour and I am told it was very much out of character for you.
“The reason you took this vehicle was nonsensical and as a result of your intoxication you crashed.
“It is fortunate no other road user was affected by your course of driving.”
McCreadie, from Whitburn, admitted driving while he was over the limit and without any insurance on the A85 Comrie to St Fillans road in Perthshire on August 1.
Fateful camping trip cut short
Fiscal depute Lisa Marshall told the court McCreadie and three friends from the Bathgate area had travelled to Loch Earn for a camping trip to celebrate the easing of lockdown.
However, the weather turned foul and the group decided to give up camping and book into a hotel in Comrie – around seven miles away – for the night instead.
She said: “They were in the hotel bar consuming alcohol.
“Over the course of the next few hours he managed to lose his wallet.
“His search for the wallet was not successful so he began to pester his friend for his car keys so he could continue looking for his lost wallet.
“He was told it would not be in the vehicle as he had not been in the vehicle that day.
“His friend eventually gave him the keys to go and search but he was told not to even think about taking the car to drive back to Loch Earn to look for his wallet.
“He has then driven off in the car.
“Another road user came across the crashed car lying on its roof, blocking the road, and the accused standing beside the vehicle.
“Fortunately, the accused was uninjured, apart from a scratch to his nose.
“He was taken to hospital.”
‘Sheepish, embarrassed and remorseful’
McCreadie’s solicitor told the court: “It is fair to describe this as entirely out of character.
“This was the first time he and his pals had been away as lockdown was relaxed.
“The weather closed in and they sought refuge in a hotel.
“The accused did not have a car and had no intention of driving.
“He lost his wallet, panic ensued and he took the risky and foolish decision to drive the vehicle. It is a matter he very much regrets.
“He has made a very foolish decision.
“He is sheepish, embarrassed and remorseful.
“He is an apprentice quantity surveyor, is at Napier University and is a young man who works hard.”
