Driver stopped police passing

A WORRIED driver swerved in front of an unmarked police car in a bid to stop it overtaking, a court heard today.

Graeme Allan, 37, thought road markings meant you could not pass another car but when he was pulled over by police he was told the opposite. Sheriff Mhairi Stephen told Allan it was a foolish manoeuvre and fined him 160 and put six penalty points on his licence.

Fiscal depute Malcolm Stewart told Edinburgh Sheriff Court the unmarked police car tried to overtake Allan at 1:30am on the A7 on 17 June last year.

"They decided to overtake him and he swerved from his lane into the path of the police car as if to try to prevent the overtaking manoeuvre," he said.

The police driver had to pull into the other lane to avoid a crash. Allan, of St Andrews Way, Gorebridge, admitted driving carelessly between Eskbank Road and Hardengreen Roundabout, Midlothian.