Latest news with #Crimond
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment girl under 10 drives car through village: Woman, 32, admits to allowing child behind the wheel
A woman let a child drive a car through a village during a rain storm, a court has heard. Sophie-Leigh Gemmell allowed the girl, who was aged under 10 at the time, to take the wheel of the vehicle in July last year. The 32-year-old yesterday admitted culpable and reckless conduct after footage emerged of the incident in Crimond, Aberdeenshire. The young girl was shown driving the car barefoot and in a rainstorm, according to the BBC. Following an appearance at Peterhead Sheriff Court, sentence on Gemmell was deferred until next month pending reports. She admitted allowing a child to drive a motor vehicle on a public road in poor weather and barefoot to the danger of others, including the child. A video of the incident was seen on social media app Snapchat. It showed the child driving in the dark, using the wipers and indicators and peering over the steering wheel. Gemmell, from Crimond, can be heard cheering during the video. At court, she sat in silence while her defence solicitor, Iain Jane, lodged her guilty plea. The BBC reported that sentence was deferred by Sheriff Annella Cowan to obtain a criminal justice social work report on Gemmell. In Scotland, a child can apply for a provisional driving license at 15 years and 9 months old, but they cannot drive a car on public roads until they are 17. Children must use a car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall (4ft 4in), whichever comes first. There have been previous incidents in the UK where children have driven vehicles that have resulted in police taking action. A 12-year-old was accused of stealing a BMW X5 with a holiday caravan attached before taking it on a 40-mile joyride. The boy was allegedly spotted by police after driving at Garforth, outside Leeds, in March this year. Police following the boy said he was barely able to see over the wheel of the car. He was ordered to appear at Harrogate Magistrates' Court on charges of theft of a motor vehicle, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods but he failed to turn up and police had to issue an arrest warrant. When the caravan was stolen, its owner Janine Forth, of Leeds, took to Facebook to praise the 'amazing police response' after seeing the robbery unfold. She said: 'We arrived at the caravan site just as they had hitched it up and were driving away with it. The caravan had all the up-to -date security.' After the theft Sergeant Paul Cording said he 'struggled to comprehend' what he found when the car was pulled over, despite having 23 years of service in the police.
BBC News
30-06-2025
- BBC News
Woman let young girl drive car through town
A woman allowed a girl who was under 10 years old to drive a car through a Scottish town, a court has heard. Sophie-Leigh Gemmell, 32, admitted culpable and reckless conduct after footage emerged of the incident in Crimond, young girl was driving the car barefoot and in bad weather in July last Peterhead Sheriff Court, sentence on Gemmell was deferred for reports. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
The Guardian
26-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘Bureaucrats' are just doing their job
While I agree with the thrust of John Harris's argument (In a town far from Whitehall, I saw how devastating Labour's cuts will be. When will ministers wake up?, 23, March), did he have to point the finger at 'spreadsheets drawn up by local bureaucrats'? Somebody in the much maligned 'back office' has to allocate inadequate resources as best they can and draw up rotas for care staff using some form of administrative technology. Could they not just be referred to as local government officers?David GriffithsHuddersfield, West Yorkshire So our cash-strapped government has still felt able to approve a £9bn road tunnel under the Thames between Tilbury and Gravesend (Report, 25 March), almost 12 months to the day since the centuries-old ferry ceased operation because Thurrock and Kent councils couldn't agree the modest funding required to keep it going. Funny old LarkbeyLondon The line 'Play one the drummer knows' (Letters, 26 March) is in fact from Half Man Half Biscuit's song Rock and Roll Is Full of Bad Wools, on their 2011 release 90 Bisodol (Crimond). I would get out more, but I've heard that there's going to be a riot in Trumpton AnzaniMusselburgh, East Lothian Please may I speak up for scatter cushions on behalf of short people (Letters, 24 March)? Ushered to a vast cushionless sofa, we are forced to choose between a priggish perch or an unseemly TillmanEgerton, Kent Beard transplants (G2, 25 March)? Are you practising for 1 April?Pete BibbySheffield Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
