‘Hormonal’ driver struck pedestrian

A DRIVER who rammed a pedestrian and wove through crowded streets as he clung to the bonnet of her car blamed her hormones.

Suzanne Gilchrist carried Stuart Morris, 22, on her Vauxhall Corsa for nearly a fifth of a mile as she tried to escape a store detective.

Sheriff Wyllie Robertson, told Gilchrist, 37, that CCTV footage showed “vividly” how she had put Mr Morris’s life in danger.

Emma White, prosecuting, said the incident began with the mother-of-one, from Boswall Parkway, Granton, fleeing a security officer at Howgate Shopping Centre in Falkirk.

Stirling Sheriff Court heard that as Gilchrist sped off, Mr Morris, an “unconnected” passer-by, was crossing the road.

Miss White said Gilchrist drove towards him and struck him, causing him jump onto the bonnet. She then drove off “at speed”, weaving as she went.

Rhona McLeod, defending, said: “She had thought that she was pregnant and was obviously suffering from some sort of hormonal imbalance.”

Gilchrist pleaded guilty to assaulting Mr Morris on June 12 last year. She was cleared of theft. She was remanded in custody for reports.