Driver doing 110mph in police chase

A 55-YEAR-OLD BMW driver has been banned from the road after a 110mph police chase on the A90.

Serial speeder Gary Stewart was going so fast pursuing officers could only see his red lights on the horizon.

Prosecutors claimed Stewart tried to lose police when he pulled into a roadside filling station on Dundee’s outskirts and exited moments later.

The offshore worker said he had only stopped at Bullionfield to see if the Marks and Spencer there was still open.

Stewart, of Kirriemuir, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted driving dangerously on the A90, between Inchmichael and the Dykes of Gray junction, at around 10.30pm on September 17 last year.

He was disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined £900.

Sheriff Donald Ferguson told him: “This was indeed a highly dangerous piece of driving. And on top of that, you have quite recent convictions for speeding.”

Fiscal depute Stuart Hamilton said police officers were talking to another motorist on the A90 when they spotted Stewart’s white BMW X5 roaring past them.

“The officers gave chase in an attempt to catch up with the vehicle,” he said.

“But it was travelling at speeds up to 110mph and officers could only see its rear lights in the distance. Other officers were asked to attend in the event of the vehicle failing to stop due to its speed.”

Police followed the car towards the Dykes of Gray roundabout.

“It was recorded as travelling at speeds of 87mph in the 70mph zone,” the fiscal depute said. “The car eventually pulled into the BP filling station but then moved off again, travelling north.

“It was the officers’ opinion that the accused was aware of the marked police vehicle and this was a manoeuvre to check whether the police would follow him.”

The court heard Stewart continued driving along the Kingsway with police on his tail but was now sticking to the speed limit. Mr Hamilton said: “Officers eventually stopped the vehicle. The accused stated that he hadn’t realised he was travelling so fast but he had not a reasonable explanation for his speed.”

Stewart told police he was travelling home to Kirriemuir after visiting his girlfriend in Stirling.

His lawyer told the court: “He works offshore as a foreman and his licence is predominantly used to get to and from ports. He is under no illusions and knows he will have to make other arrangements.”

Commenting on the prosecution’s claims about a “manoeuvre” at the BP station, the lawyer said: “Mr Stewart had pulled into the petrol station to see if Marks and Spencer was open. But he could see from the forecourt that it was closed and decided to drive away.”

Stewart, of Third Row, Kirriemuir, has been told he will have to resit his test to get his licence back.

Offshore worker Gary Stewart was disqualified from driving for 18 months and fined.