Woman who set herself on fire after failing driving test walks free from court

A woman who set herself ablaze in an attempted suicide after failing her driving test for the fourth time has been shown mercy by a judge.

Yamkala Sapkota, 30, was allowed to walk from court, and Lord Bannatyne told her it was an unusual course for him to take.

However, he said he believed it was “highly unlikely” the Nepalese mother-of-three would ever offend again, and that she had never intended to harm anyone but herself , the High Court in Edinburgh heard .

Sapkota’s lawyer said she had been “out of her mind” when she doused herself in white spirit and set it alight. She suffered severe burns to 12 per cent of her body.

Lord Bannatyne said he expected to admonish Sapkota in 12 months’ time if she had demonstrated to him that the offence had been wholly out of character.

But if she got into any further trouble, he would “deal with the matter in a different fashion.”