It’s that time of day again…
Hit boy on crossing
A Fife mum who knocked over a 12-year-old on a zebra crossing has been handed penalty points.
Cheryl Dignan, 33, previously admitted driving without due care and attention and colliding with the youngster.
Dignan’s car hit the boy and knocked him to the ground on the crossing on Langside Drive, Kennoway, on November 26 last year.
Dignan, of Ivy Grove in Methilhill, was handed six penalty points and fined £320 at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Alison McKay told Dignan: “To be fair to you, I suspect that this was a horrible experience for you as well as the complainer.
“What I have to do is punish is not the outcome but the level of carelessness.
“There’s no suggestion that you were travelling at excessive speed.”
At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Freya Anderson-Ward said the youngster began crossing the road “jumped in the air” when the car approached.
“However, the accused hit his leg to one side, causing him to land on the bonnet and roll on to the ground.”
Dignan stopped the vehicle and got out to check the youngster, who told her he was okay and wanted to go home.
Paramedics took the boy to Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, where he was treated for minor swelling and bruising to both his knees and ankles.
Rapist refuses to work on reports
A man, previously convicted of trying to kill is then-partner, has said he will refuse to co-operate with preparing court-ordered reports regarding whether he should be locked up for life for raping a woman in St Andrews and Glasgow.
Steven McKee, speaking via videolink from prison, made his stance clear as reports into a possible Lifelong Restriction Order were called for by a judge.
McKee, from Falkirk, was convicted last month of rape and psychological abuse but maintains his innocence.
Halloween horror
A Perth man who drove home drunk from a Hallowe’en party drunk has been banned from the road for more then three years.
Witnesses passed Paul Thomson’s Ford van on its side on a slip road at Kinfauns on the A90 at 1.25am on October 31.
He pled guilty to driving with 67 mics of alcohol in his system – the legal limit is 22mics.
Fiscal depute Nicole Lewis told Perth Sheriff Court witnesses stopped to find Thomson still inside the stricken vehicle.
“The accused is given assistance and crawled out of the vehicle,” she said.
Police arrived 15 minutes later and officers recorded damage to the van and to the crash barrier.
Ms Lewis said: “The accused then intimated that he had been drinking alcohol.”
His defence solicitor said: “Mr Thomson had been at a Hallowe’en party.
“Stupidly, he took the decision to take his vehicle and drive it home.
“He can only apologise for his stupidity.”
Sheriff Alison Michie slapped self employed gutter maintenance worker Thomson with a curfew and disqualified him from driving for 40 months.
Thomson, 47, will be prohibited from leaving his South Street home between 8pm and 6am for the next four months.
Golf club thief
David Kearney, the former general manager at Pitlochry Golf Club, has been ordered to pay back hundreds of pounds he stole in two of three late-night raids on the clubhouse. Perth Sheriff Court heard he left the job but returned three times to steal money from the safe, twice successfully.
Abuse trial continues
A woman was in danger of being hit by her ex-partner’s car, a witness said in an ongoing domestic abuse trial.
Danielle Kelly’s neighbour told how Alexander Drummond, 36, drove his car at her on October 9, 2020.
The trial in Perth Sheriff Court previously heard from Ms Kelly, who said Drummond entered her home uninvited on October 9 2020, punched her, grabbed her, chased her and attempted to hit her with his car.
He denies the allegations.
Witness Ronald McGrath, a neighbour in Carse Avenue, Alloa told the court how he saw the alleged attack from a bedroom in his house.
He said of Drummond: “He was shouting and screaming – I couldn’t make out what was being said.”
He said Drummond then sat in his car and revved the engine, before mounting the kerb and “heading towards Danielle, about 20-30 mph, at least a car and a half-length of distance.”
Asked what would have happened if she had not moved out of the way, he replied: “She would have been knocked down.”
The trial continues.
In case you missed it…
Tuesday round-up — Covid cougher and armed robbery
Monday round-up — Paying back £23k at £2.50 per month
Friday round-up – Arwen proves a trial in Dundee
Thursday round-up — Scratched Mustang and hosed
The full caseload of the Dundee Crime and Courts Team can be found here.
