A motorist caused a “catalogue of destruction” after drunkenly driving his work van through gardens and into a supermarket sign in Fallin.
Steven Hazel‘s 250-yard rampage saw him hit parked cars and eventually come to rest against a lamppost.
A prosecutor said at 8.30pm, a member of the public saw a van colliding with a motor car, career across the road and into the garden of the house directly across from him.
“The van then reversed out of the garden and drove along Bandeath Road towards Stirling Road, where it collided with another vehicle.
“The van then moved on and two employees at the nearby Tesco Express heard a bang. On looking out the window they saw the accused on the grass verge where the information sign would be.
“They exited and saw the accused in the driver’s seat and were of the opinion he was under the influence of drink and/or drugs.
“The accused then drove on Archie Bone Way where another member of the public looked out her window and saw the van collide with a lamp post, where it came to a halt.”
Police officers saw that Hazel, 42, was “unsteady” on his feet and “staggering” about.
They could smell alcohol and his speech was slurred but he refused to take a roadside breath test.
Solicitor Virgil Crawford, defending, said Hazel had lost his job as a loft insulator as a result of his actions, adding: “It was an act of stupidity on his part.”
Hazel admitted driving carelessly and with excess alcohol in Fallin on May 24.
He was banned for 16 months and must carry out 66 hours of unpaid work.
Great Scottish tea blag
A fraudster who spun a web of lies around his Scottish tea company was jailed in Stirling. Thomas Robinson duped a series of people and businesses with his tall tales but justice caught up with him when he was found guilty after a trial. Read the full, remarkable, tale here.
Bank theft
Bannockburn man Liam Dornan stole hundreds of pounds from his former foster mother after going to her home in Stirling in the early hours of the morning asking for help with his online banking app.
After forcing his way in, he walked out with her mobile phone and bank cards.
It was later discovered he had transferred £750 to his own account.
The court heard the woman still wants contact with the 19-year-old.
While considering a non-harassment order, Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon told him: “(The complainer) is to be commended for still wanting to have anything to do with you.
“Hopefully you will realise how much she has helped you.”
Fiscal depute Stuart Asher told the court Dornan turned up at 3.30am on August 1 2023 asking for online banking help, climbed onto a wheelie bin and then prised open a window to jump inside.
“He asked for her bank card to withdraw money and an argument began because she refused to give it to him.
“He left taking her mobile phone, which was in a case containing her bank cards.”
She was able to contact Dornan later that morning and he told her he had left her phone next to the ATM at Home Bargains on Stirling Road.
When the phone was recovered, the bank cards were no longer within the case and it was discovered money had been moved from her account.
Dornan later breached bail conditions on a number of occasions by approaching the woman, including one one occasion where he turned up and demanded she pay for his taxi.
He banged windows at her home, causing them to smash but fled when police arrived.
His solicitor said Dornan suffered from a drug addiction and is currently serving a prison sentence for a High Court matter.
Dornan, of Station Road, admitted theft, acting in a threatening manner, twice breaching bail and resisting arrest.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon imposed a six month prison sentence to run concurrent to his present one and a further 13-week sentence to run consecutively.
‘Off your face’
A woman who tried to take a child from a Stirling nursery was told by a sentencing sheriff “we can’t have you turning up at nurseries whilst off your face”. Hazel Kelbie, 39, was intoxicated when she turned up at the pre-school and asked for the child by name. Read the full story here.
Green Welly Stop stop
A motorist caught with a haul of drugs at a popular Stirlingshire tourist stop has been banned from the road for almost six years.
John McNeil, 55, was under the influence of drugs at and driving without insurance at The Green Welly Stop on the A82.
A search of his vehicle revealed 3.9g of heroin hidden within a glasses case.
Fiscal depute Stuart Asher said staff at the business had raised the alarm after becoming concerned at his demeanour.
McNeil’s solicitor said cash also found on McNeil was from selling a child’s quad bike at a location nearby.
She said: “He accepts full responsibility and he’s lucky that no one was hurt as a result of his poor decision making.”
McNeil, of Largs, admitted possessing diamorphine, driving while unfit through drink or drugs and driving without insurance on April 20 2023.
Sheriff Mark O’Hanlon also sentenced him in relation to a separate offence of driving whilst disqualified on a road near Killin on November 28 2023.
McNeil was ordered to carry out a total of 260 hours of unpaid work, placed on supervision for two years and disqualified from driving for a total of 67 months.
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