Banned Scots driver inhaling laughing gas balloons at wheel of Mercedes fled police at high speed

Get the latest Daily Record breaking news on WhatsApp

Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info

Join us on WhatsApp

A banned driver who inhaled laughing gas at the wheel of a Merc at a fast food drive-thru has been shown leniency by sheriff and and spared jail.

Thomas Forrest breathed in the sedative from a balloon while driving through McDonald's in Raploch, Stirling. Forrest, 24, then drove the one-year-old blue Mercedes C-class along nearby Drip Road “at such speed that it left the ground” going over a speedbump.

The incident occurred around 7.30pm on December 16th 2023. Stirling Sheriff Court was told that witnesses in a car behind Forrest's called police. The court heard the first thing they noticed was Forrest making “unusual” halts in the lane leading to the drive through.

Prosecutor Christa Lindsay said: “The witnesses repeatedly heard gas being released from a pressurised canister, and a McDonald's worker observed the accused continuously consuming nitrous oxide from an inflated balloon.”

Join the Daily Record's WhatsApp community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.

When Forrest saw that police had arrived, he accelerated away from them, reaching speeds of approximately 50 miles an hour on a stretch of Drip Road subject to traffic calming measures and a 20 limit, all four wheels leaving the ground at one point as the Merc hit a speed bump.

Forrest then abandoned the car and made off on foot, pursued by police, also on foot. A woman in the front passenger seat of the abandoned car identified Forrest as the driver. Forrest, of William Rodger Drive, Montrose, pleaded guilty to driving carelessly while inhaling nitrous oxide, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance.

He had originally faced a charge of dangerous driving, but the Crown accepted his plea to the lesser charge of driving without due care and attention. Solicitor Sandy Morrison, defending, asked the court not to jail his client, who, he said, was a working man from a “supportive” family.

He said: “I advised Mr Forrest and his family that this is a serious matter and certainly one where the court could well be considering a period in custody.”

The court heard Forrest had “a number of previous convictions” for driving offences, had already been disqualified twice, once on indictment, and still had two years' disqualification to run from a previous case.

Summary Sheriff Neil Kinnear banned him for 33 months, backdated to September, effectively adding a year to his existing ban. He said he did not want to extend Forrest's ban “excessively”. He also placed him under social work supervision for 12 months, and ordered him to carry out 135 hours of unpaid work.

He said: “Clearly driving whilst taking nitrous oxide is extremely dangerous but it appears, from the [social work] reports I've read, that you do seem to have realised, with hindsight, how serious this was, so I take account of that.”

Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here.

Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.