A north-east man who drove a van at a police officer after being caught behind the wheel while disqualified has been jailed.
Lee Paterson was locked up for eight months yesterday, after previously admitting the charge.
The 26-year-old had been driving along Wellington Road, Torry on April 30 last year when he was spotted by a police officer in an unmarked car.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard that the officer radioed the police control room as he suspected Paterson was banned from driving, and followed in behind his vehicle.
Shortly afterwards, another unmarked police vehicle driven by Constable Eoin Maxwell, which was on nearby Balnagask Road. managed to get in front of Paterson, who was stopped at a set of traffic lights.
Constable Maxwell, who was in uniform, then got out of his car and approached Paterson.
But fiscal depute Jennifer Pritchard told the court that Paterson then drove towards the officer – forcing him to jump out the way – before continuing through a red light and fleeing the scene.
Officers later established he was driving while unlicensed without insurance.
Defence agent Keidra Morrison said Paterson was in a “really dark place” when he committed the offence.
She said her client, of Ashgrove Road, Aberdeen, been heavily into legal highs at the time and could barely remember the months leading up to the offence, and the incident itself, because he was “such a mess”.
She said Paterson, who was in a much better place now, wished to draw a line under what had happened.
But Sheriff David Hall said he could not ignore the seriousness of the offence and Paterson’s “bad record”.
As well as jailing him for eight months, Sheriff Hall banned Paterson from driving for six years.