A DUNFERMLINE driver spun out of control close to where a dad was walking with his child.

James Fenton came screeching down a road, lost control, mounted a pavement and finished up in a garden.

Fenton, 31, of Glen Fruin Grove, appeared in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court on Tuesday and was fined £840 and banned from driving for 11 months..

Fenton admitted that on November 18 in Dunlin Drive, he drove a car without due care and attention, drove at excessive speed in a residential area, drove too close to a vehicle in from of him, lost control of his vehicle, swerved across the carriageway, mounted a kerb, spun around and crashed into a hedge.

Depute fiscal Dev Kapadia said the incident occurred at 1.45pm and the witnesses included a man who was walking in the street and had his young son with him.

“The attention of the witnesses was drawn by loud engine noise. The car was being driven too close to the vehicle in front, he swerved into the opposing carriageway, swerved back across the road, mounted a kerb, went back on to the carriageway before spinning around, going over a pavement and into a hedge, stopping in a garden.

“Police were contacted and when they arrived they found the accused and a passenger in the vehicle.”

He told police: “I wasn’t even doing over 30mph. As soon as I touched the brakes it was like I was on ice.”

Defence solicitor James Moncrieff said his client now accepted he was travelling too fast in the conditions. “His car was damaged beyond repair,” he added.

He said his client was unemployed and had hoped to find work as a taxi driver.

Fenton also admitted he failed to appear for a court hearing on August 17.

Sheriff Charles MacNair told Fenton: “This was a bad piece of careless driving. You were driving too fast when you knew it had been raining. It was in a residential area and there was a young pedestrian there with their parent.”