A provisional driver drove his friend’s sister’s car into a farm wall while unsupervised, a court heard.
Jack Davidson, 17, appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and admitted driving into a wall at West Memus on August 24 last year, while unsupervised with a provisional licence and without insurance, and failing to report the accident.
Davidson, of Dunnichen Road, Kingsmuir, took the car from Lochbank Road in Forfar and was caught after an insurance company tracking data showed a crash had taken place.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said: “On August 24 2014 the accused and his friend had been socialising together.
“In the early hours of the morning, the car keys were borrowed.
“The accused lost control of the vehicle and hit a wall near West Memus Farm.”
Defending Davidson, solicitor Bob Bruce said the decision was “a gross act of stupidity”.
“His father went up and repaired the wall and I have (something) vouching for that.
“It was just an act of wanton stupidity. He took the car in a moment of madness.
“His mother and father are here and have been in my office constantly throughout this.
“This is a one-off as opposed to the start of any commission of crime.”
Visiting sheriff Christopher Shead noted guilty pleas had been tendered at previous diets but withdrawn.
He told Davidson: “You’re still a young man, which the court must take account of.
“These charges…can carry a custodial penalty.”
Sheriff Shead imposed 75 hours of unpaid work, to be completed within three months, along with six penalty points.