Sheriff’s dire warning to teenage speedsters from Sutherland

Two young Sutherland motorists got a ticking off from a sheriff who warned them they “would not live long” if they carried on driving at excessive speed.

Apprentice plumber Ryly Philip (18) of Golf Road, Helmsdale, and apprentice greenkeeper Lewis Duncan (19) of Ross Street, Golspie, appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to both admit speeding on the A9 on the Black Isle at 98mph in a 70mph zone on March 29.

Fiscal depute Eilidh Gunn told Sheriff Eilidh Macdonald: “They were stopped and both were immediately apologetic to officers.”

Defence solicitor John MacColl said his clients were heading home from Inverness and asked the sheriff not to disqualify them because it would affect their jobs.

Sheriff Macdonald endorsed each of their licences with five penalty points and fined them both £560.

She warned them: “You were travelling at ridiculous speeds. You do not drive like this on roads especially in the Highlands or you will not live long. It can end in tragedy.”