A teenage soldier drunkenly crashed his car into a fence after being chased by police.
The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was almost three times the drink-drive limit when he mounted a grass verge on the A91 Dairsie to Cupar road.
He failed to pull over at a police stop point in the early hours of the morning before being pursued.
The teen, a trooper with the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, was fined and banned after pleading guilty to careless and drink-driving at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Fiscal depute Carol Doherty told the court one of the officers stood at the side of the road and tried to flag down the teen’s car.
She said: “The officer signalled for the vehicle to stop but it started to move to the wrong side of the road.
“The vehicle slowed down but went past the police van.
“Police followed the car and activated the blue lights. The vehicle tried to slow down, however it crashed into a grass verge and the vehicle became stuck.”
The teen, of Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, was spoken to by officers and said he made a “bad decision” and was “very sorry”.
He pleaded guilty to driving with 57 mics of alcohol in 100 mls of breath, exceeding the limit of 22 mics, on November 28 last year.
The teen also admitted driving carelessly by failing to stop at a police stop point, continuing to drive at speed and crashing into a grass verge and fence, causing damage.
Defence solicitor Steven Fowler said the teen faces further disciplinary action from the Army, adding that his client could offer no explanation about why he drove.
Mr Fowler said: “He misjudged the turn and hit the verge.
“All he has wanted to do since he was young was to serve his country.
“He appreciates he made a very serious error of judgment and he’s going to pay a price.”
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown disqualified the teen from driving for 12 months and fined him £400.
To better understand how our court reporting works, click here to view our online guide.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.