Armed robberies made crash driver panic, court told

A cash-in-transit driver took off after going the wrong way down a one-way street and hitting a bollard because he was so traumatised after being the victim of three armed robberies that he panicked.

The incident happened last September.

Duncan McKenzie was left shaken as a result of being held up three times while working as a driver for security firm G4S. He is said to have had a shotgun pointed at his head and been threatened with machetes and axes during three incidents.

The experiences left him unable to deal with workplace stress, causing him to panic when he got lost on a job. He ended up driving the wrong way down a one-way street and struck a bollard in his van.

The details emerged when he appeared in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court to admit a charge of careless driving. The court heard he entered an area of Paisley High Street in September, ignoring a No Entry sign and hitting the bollard. The force of the collision raised his van off the ground and he made off without reporting the incident to police.

But it was captured on CCTV cameras and he was tracked down by officers. When cautioned and charged, he said: “I’m really sorry it happened.”

Defence solicitor Graham Mann said: “He cooperated with the police and identified himself as being the driver. This was a G4S vehicle and he has been working for the company for over 20 years.”

The lawyer said McKenzie had been held up three times during the course of his employment and that affected how he reacted on the day in question.

He said: “He was going for a drop and became highly flustered due to an error on the trip sheet. That gives a driver a route to drive and they have to follow the route they are given for security reasons. He realised he had been given the wrong address and he immediately panicked. He didn’t appreciate there had been any damage caused.”

He added: “He was held up with a shotgun, and another time with a machete, and at an incident in Glasgow, at a well known shopping centre, he was attacked by an offender with an axe. Perhaps that’s why he responded in the way he did.”

After hearing that G4S had found McKenzie another job, and that he had a good work record and no previous convictions, Sheriff Frances McCartney allowed him to keep his driving licence.

She fined McKenzie, of Clydebank, £250 and placed three penalty points on his licence.