Strathblane man claimed crashed car had been stolen

Apr 2 2010 by Iain Howie, Stirling Observer Friday

A MOTORIST who crashed his car after a night out and then told police it had been stolen has been ordered to carry out 120 hours of community service.

James Ogilvie (20) was caught when tests found his blood on the activated airbag.

He told police the story after he hit a post at a roundabout near the former Killearn Hospital in March last year.

At Stirling Sheriff Court this week Sheriff Wyllie Robertson was told that investigations by police had lasted 15-20 hours and seen forensic tests on his car which had been moved to a secure location for investigations.

The court heard previously that the car was found damaged near Blane Smiddy roundabout.

Checks led police to Ogilvie but he said he had no idea how the car got there or how it came to be damaged.

He told police that he had left the vehicle in Killearn the evening before and had then gone to a pub for a night out. A friend gave him a lift home.

He hung his jacket, containing his car keys, on a peg in the pub but forgot to pick it up at the end of the night. He said someone must have used the keys to take his car.

Fiscal depute Lindsey Brooks said at his previous appearance: “Following forensic examination of the vehicle there was a swab of blood taken from the driver’s airbag and this was compared with the DNA profile of the accused, which showed that there was a match.”

Ogilvie, of Firleary, Milndavie Road, Strathblane, admitted falsely reporting the theft and wasting police time.

His lawyer told the court that part of what Ogilvie had told the police was true. He had got a lift home that night but only after he had opted to drive first and collided with the post.

Ogilvie thought he was fit to drive but had to leave the car near the scene of the accident as the airbags had deployed.

His agent added: “His position is that when police came to him with the information that the car had been found he went down a lane that he had to continue on further and reported the vehicle stolen untruthfully.

“He accepts he has wasted a lot of police time.”

His agent, Mr Boyle, added that it was a “falsehood which he continued with” and was remorseful for his actions.