AN EAST Lothian motorist is facing a lengthy road ban after he drove at excessive speeds along an Edinburgh street in the early hours of the morning and crashed into a taxi.

Michael McNeish had been out socialising with friends at a city centre nightclub but, when he left the premises, he and a friend decided to get into his car in July 2022.

McNeish, 26, was seen by witnesses “driving erratically” and “driving at speed” as he made his way along the Capital’s North Junction Street at about 2.50am.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told that shocked onlookers had noticed the driver making “numerous dangerous manoeuvres”, including performing handbrake turns in the middle of the road.

At about 3am, McNeish’s vehicle was then seen approaching a set of traffic lights at a four-way junction with Ferry Road where he drove through a red light.

The court heard that the motorist, who was driving northwards, then “crashed into a taxi that was travelling east” while moving at speed.

Following the collision with the black cab, McNeish lost control of his own car and ended up crashing into a pedestrian crossing and damaging a barrier.

The court was told that the force of the impact was so severe that an alloy wheel was ripped from McNeish’s vehicle and he came to an abrupt halt when he careered into a parked car.

Driving 'so bad'

The shaken taxi driver managed to exit his damaged vehicle and an onlooker was said to have phoned the police to report the incident.

McNeish, of Preston Crescent, Prestonpans, then refused to give the taxi driver his personal details and the police soon attended the scene of the crash, where he was arrested and charged.

He appeared in the dock at the city centre court last week, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving and a second offence of failing to provide his details following an accident.

Sheriff Julius Komorowski said that, in his opinion, the “driving appears so bad here I don’t think a fine would deal with this” and ordered social work reports and a restriction of liberty order assessment to be prepared.

The sheriff issued McNeish with an interim driving ban and deferred full sentence to September 5.

McNeish pleaded guilty to driving a vehicle dangerously by driving at excessive speed, braking sharply, driving through red traffic lights, and colliding with a vehicle and damaging both vehicles and a barrier on North Junction Street, Edinburgh, on July 24, 2022.

He also admitted to failing to provide his details when required to do so following an accident during the same incident.