A Lossiemouth man who crashed his mother’s £40,000 Land Rover while driving without a licence appeared in court yesterday.
Shaun Flett, 22, took the car from the property he shares with his mum on December 30 without her permission.
At the time, he was banned from the road as the result of a previous driving offence.
At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday, Flett admitted taking the car at around 1.30am and arriving at his brother’s home at 2.30am after crashing it.
Fiscal Alison Wylie said: “His brother could see he was drunk, and left him there for a while.
“It was a one-vehicle collision and there were no injuries.”
Police officers discovered the abandoned vehicle after Flett, who lives with his mother at Cromley Bank, Stotfield Road, had left the scene.
Flett, who had been disqualified from the road until retaking his test, admitted driving without a licence or insurance.
Solicitor Robert Cruickshank said he sympathised with his client’s “long-suffering mother”.
Mr Cruickshank added: “He continues to reside in the house with his mother, and he realises what he did was stupid and could have had very serious consequences.
“Alcohol played a significant part in events.”
Referring to his client’s “substantial income” Mr Cruickshank urged Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood to consider imposing a financial penalty rather than a community service order.
Sheriff Fleetwood said: “I’m of the view that this is a case which could attract a custodial sentence. But I’m prepared to deal with it with a community payback order.”
Flett was disqualified from having a driving licence for 18 months and sentenced to 230 hours of community service.