Hawick bus joy-rider given 20-month driving ban and £100 fine

Josh Nordon took the vehicle from the Borders Buses depot in Burnfoot Road in Hawick and was spotted driving it dangerously along the town’s Mart Street by going at excessive speed, ignoring road signs and veering into the opposite carriageway on the night of March 24 last year.

Jedburgh Sheriff Court was told that Nordon’s father worked for Borders Buses and that he had only taken the bus to “show off” to a friend of his.

Nordon also admitted taking a car without the consent of its owner from outside Erdol’s Fish Bar in Bourtree Place in Hawick and driving without insurance in January.

On top of those offences, Nordon pleaded guilty to wasting police time by falsely alleging that a neighbour of his in Hamilton Road at Burnfoot in Hawick was in possession of a firearm while involved in an argument with his wife.

Procurator fiscal Fraser Matheson said a “significant amount of resources” had been allocated by the police to deal with that alleged incident due to Nordon’s claim that firearms were involved.

Defence lawyer Ed Hulme told the court his client had owned up to being a “stupid idiot”.

As an alternative to a custodial sentence, Nordon was given a community payback order with a night-time home curfew.

He was also fined £100, as well as being disqualified from getting behind a driving wheel for the next 20 months.