AFTER driving over his own friend following a street fight, a Haddington man fled the scene.

Gordon Blyth, of Langriggs, drove his red Seat car into friend Cameron Robertson during a clash with a number of people in Leith, Edinburgh, last year.

Blyth and Mr Robertson became involved in a verbal disagreement with patrons of the Capital’s Tam O’Shanter pub and, after exiting their vehicle, a fist fight broke out.

Blyth, who had been drinking alcohol previously, managed to get back into his car but, when attempting a u-turn to flee the scene, he struck Mr Robertson, who was left injured underneath the car.

Blyth then ran off, leaving his friend badly injured and with his car abandoned across both lanes of busy Great Junction Street, Leith.

Blyth, 28, stood trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in June and was found guilty by a jury’s majority decision of dangerous driving while under the influence of alcohol during the incident on June 24 last year.

The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict to a second charge of Blyth driving his vehicle with 43mcg of alcohol in 100ml of blood – nearly double the legal limit of 22mcg.

Following a period of deferral, Sheriff Donald Corke last week issued a two-year driving ban and told Blyth he must complete the extended test before he is allowed back behind the wheel.

Blyth was also given a 300-hour unpaid work order.

Previously the jury heard from a number of witnesses who saw Blyth drive his vehicle into Mr Robertson that evening.

Witness Natasha Semple told the court that the incident arose when she and friends were allegedly verbally abused by passengers in Blyth’s car when it stopped outside the busy pub in Leith.

Ms Semple said that males in her group challenged the occupants and when Blyth, Mr Robertson and two friends exited the car a struggle broke out involving both groups.

The 18-year-old told the jury: “My two friends and one of the men [Mr Robertson] were in front of the car and were about to start fighting.

“The driver got into his car and I just saw it move and I saw his friend run over.

“My friend hit the bonnet and his friend went under.

“It was scary as we didn’t know if he was dead or not.”

Dr Victoria Donovan, 36, also gave evidence to the court stating she watched the drama unfold from her flat.

She said that when she looked out of her window she saw “a very riotous atmosphere” after pub-goers had left two pubs “en masse” following the collision.

Dr Donovan stated that about 40 people poured onto the street and “it appeared to me the driver drove over the man intentionally”.

The court heard that Blyth returned to the scene about half an hour after he had abandoned his vehicle and was breath-tested after handing himself over to police.