A BEITH man fled the scene of an accident, then denied he had been driving, sparking weeks of investigations.

But this week, justice caught up with the 25-year-old when a sheriff imposed a fine of more than £800 for what she described as a ‘spectacular course of events’.

Kilmarnock Sheriff Court heard last week that Graeme Whiteman, of Larch Terrace, was driving on the B780 back on May 9 of this year when two vehicles travelling in the opposite direction had to swerve because he was on the wrong side of the road.

He then crashed into a hedge and fence at Holmbyre Farm in Dalry.

Whiteman and the passenger he was travelling with got out of the car and one of the witnesses stopped to ask if they needed police or ambulance assistance.

The witness noted a smell of alcohol coming from the accused but offered them a lift into Dalry and when the car was stopped at traffic lights the pair ran off.

The police were then contacted and just after midnight the following morning, the accused was caught but there was no proof as to who was the driver of the vehicle.

Further investigations ensued to ascertain who was the owner of the car and the registered owner revealed he had sold the car to Whiteman six months earlier.

Investigations continued for more than a week before Whiteman was interviewed on May 18 when he admitted that he had been driving the car.

Whiteman, representing himself, said there had been an argument and he flew off.

He agreed that it was a stupid thing to do.

Sheriff Iona MacDonald gave him the chance to seek legal advice on the matter but he refused as he wanted it dealt with and put into the past.

She said: “Eventually you admitted it after lots of police investigation.

"This was a substantial, spectacular course of events where you had no licence, went out driving and crashed into a fence.” She imposed a total fine of £860 on four charges.

These were driving without due care and attention, driving with only a provisional licence without the supervision of a qualified driver, driving without insurance and causing an accident by driving without providing details of his name and address afterwards.   He was also banned from owning or obtaining a driving licence for a period of one year.