A LEARNER driver who sped through Johnstone town centre so erratically that police had to call off their pursuit over fears of a crash has been warned he could be jailed.


Aaron Swanson, 20, raced through the streets at speed, even weaving through a car park in a bid to evade cops who spotted him driving a car with no registration plate.


He drove at 40mph along a street lined with speed bumps, accelerated to 50mph while on the wrong side of the road and forced another motorist to perform an emergency stop to avoid a smash, resulting in police calling an end to their pursuit.

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A few minutes later, officers spotted Swanson on foot a short distance away, finding him out of breath, dripping with sweat and with the car keys in his pocket.


The details emerged last week when Swanson appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court for a pre-trial hearing.


Swanson had been facing trial on a total of nine charges, relating to two incidents, but pleaded guilty to four charges in exchange for five being dropped.


He admitted driving a Ford Focus without insurance and failing to display L-plates on the car in Main Road, Elderslie, on March 17 this year.


Swanson also pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and driving without insurance on April 21 this year – the day he led police on the high-speed chase through Johnstone town centre – in a different Ford Focus.


Procurator fiscal depute Pamela Flynn said the first incidents came to light after Swanson crashed the car he was driving.


He fled the scene but contacted police a couple of days later to advise them he had been driving on the day in question.


Swanson, of Gallowhill Road, Paisley, came to the attention of police again in April, this time in Johnstone, as he drove past them in a car with no registration plate as they sat at traffic lights.

During the chase that followed, he ignored Give Way signs and narrowly avoided other vehicles.

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After hearing that Swanson had been placed on a Community Payback Order earlier this year for separate charges of dangerous driving, possession of cannabis, driving without L-plates and driving without insurance, Sheriff Colin Pettigrew called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case until next month.


He told him: “Your driving was clearly dangerous, both to you and to others. I’d be totally failing in my duty if I did not consider all options – and that includes custody.”