Teenager’s driving antics and refusal to take breath test land her in court

A policeman in an unmarked vehicle was forced to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision after new driver Aimee Smith borrowed her father’s car.

But that was just the start of problems for the unemployed 18-year-old, of Sundhamar in Lerwick.

Detained by police, she refused to give a breath sample, resorting to clever evasive tactics like pretending to blow or sucking the breathalyser.

Her early-morning antics on Friday were enough to land her in court later in the day.

Procurator fiscal Duncan MacKenzie said it had been “made clear to her at the roadside and at the police station what was required of her”.

Defence agent Tommy Allan said that, while she had been drinking, she may well have been under the limit.

He said he had asked her “more than once” why she had refused to give a breath sample only to be told “I don’t know”.

Sheriff Graeme Napier said even if she had been over the limit it might not have been by much, and any disqualification might have been kept to the minimum as a result.

He told her: “Somebody who is 18 and who only passed their test in February should know all about drinking and driving.”

Banning her in the interim, he called for background reports to be compiled in time for the next main court day on 15th December. She was released on bail.

Meanwhile, a man walked into the Tesco supermarket in Lerwick and helped himself to three bottles of spirits.

Gregor Manson, 32, of the town’s Pitt Lane, had been drinking with friends when they ran out of booze, and he volunteered to get more drink.

The stock was worth £50 in total. One of the bottles were broken, leading to a £17 loss.

Sentence was deferred at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Friday after Manson also admitted breaching a probation order.

The court heard Manson was eager to get into rehab to help sort out his problems.

Releasing him on bail, sheriff Graeme Napier called for a social work report into his prospects for getting to rehab.