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Express Reporter
A maniac motorist belted over speed bumps, mounted a pavement and tore down a closed road during a drinkdriving police chase.
Thomas Reid, 25, led cops on a highspeed pursuit in Paisley before trying to
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run away after hitting a dead end.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard he bumped his Renault Megane onto a footpath and squeezed between a traffic barrier and garden wall in a bid to escape.
But the boy racer dodged a prison stretch even after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, and was given community service.
Sheriff Craig Harris said: “You should understand that if you do not comply in full, you will be brought back here and your feet will not touch the ground as you will go straight to jail.”
Reid was first spotted as he screeched down Thrushcraigs Crescent after a drunken rammy with his partner.
He drove at least double the speed limit as he swerved by bollards and bounced over speed bumps in nearby streets.
Police tailed the yob as he tried to escape by rushing down Espedair Street – which was closed to traffic.
Reid mounted the pavement and crammed the car between roadwork barriers in desperation.
He ditched the motor after discovering the way out was closed off, and tried to run.
But he was nabbed after officers tackled him in the street.
Reid was breath-tested after officers smelled booze – revealing he was more than double the drink-drive limit.
The court heard he had “very foolishly” decided to get behind the wheel after a row with his partner on October 6.
Sheriff Harris insisted he was “only just” convinced not to cage Reid due to his “appalling” record of previous offences, but warned he would be sent down if he refused to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
He added: “There is a straightforward choice here, whether to jail you or give you some other way of paying for your conduct due to the appalling record you have for someone of your age.
“The only discount you are getting here for your early guilty plea is that I am not sending you to jail today.”
Reid, of John Neilston Avenue, was placed on a three- year Community Payback Order with supervision and banned from the road for three years. (Adjacent to Kwik Save car park, Paisley Road West)