A DUNBAR driver has been banned from the roads after pleading guilty to a careless driving charge.

Hamish Thomson, of James Court, was seen by witnesses driving a vehicle at excessive speeds along the town’s West Port.

Thomson failed to stop and give way at a pedestrian crossing and narrowly avoided colliding with another vehicle during the incident last May.

The 29-year-old drove away from the scene but pedestrians noted down the vehicle’s registration number and alerted police to the situation.

Officers attended at Thomson’s mother’s address, where the car was registered to, and she in turn told officers her son was the driver.

But when police turned up at Thomson’s home, he denied being behind the wheel and said that no one had been in the car for over a week as it was not insured.

But following investigations, officers found that the vehicle had been insured that day on a 24-hour policy.

Solicitor Angela Craig said that her client had a clean driving licence but conceded his driving had been “below the proper standard”.

The solicitor added that Thomson’s driving had not been dangerous and instead should be considered to be careless.

During last Thursday’s appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, the unemployed father-of-one was told he was being banned from the road for six months and would have to pay a £360 fine.

Thomson admitted a charge of careless driving at West Port, Dunbar, on May 14 last year.