A Tayside stonemason who fled the scene of a crash was caught red-booted by police due to the “distinctive” colour of his car, a court heard.
Novice driver Macauley Holgate from Kirriemuir “panicked” after colliding with a Toyota pickup in the nearby village of Dykehead on July 31 last year.
Forfar Sheriff Court heard the 18-year-old, who had already lost his licence after accumulating six penalty points early in his driving career, sped away from the scene after he indicated to the other driver he was going to park up.
Police later saw the apprentice mason on the A90 dual carriageway after noticing a poor paint job on the red boot of his black Ford Fiesta.
Depute fiscal Hannah Kennedy said: “Witness Mr Mackintosh was driving his Toyota pickup truck through the village of Dykehead, and the accused was in a little car park nearby.
“The accused could be heard revving his engine in the car park for some time.
“As Mr Mackintosh became adjacent, the accused came out of the car park at speed and collided with the pickup.
“This was witnessed by two people behind Mr Mackintosh’s vehicle, and the accused also had a passenger in his car, a friend. He said he was going to reverse back into the car park instead he reversed and drove away at speed.”
On being found by police, Ms Kennedy added: “There was evidence that an attempt had been made to spray-paint the boot of the car to hide its colour, but a good job was not made of it.”
Holgate, of West Inch Farm, admitted driving carelessly on the B955 Kirriemuir to Clova road at Dykehead, failing to stop and give his name and address, and failing to notify police of the incident within 24 hours.
Solicitor Bob Bruce said his client had bought the car while he did not have a licence, with the intention of taking lessons, but was “tempted” into taking a friend out for a trip.
He added: “He left by the entry point of the car park, which was an error of judgment on his part, and he did panic after the accident.”
Visiting Sheriff Simon Collins said: “I’m conscious you appear here effectively as a first offender, but the circumstances are serious because of the nature of your driving, and you failed to stop and report the accident to police.”
Holgate was disqualified from driving for 10 months and fined £400.