A motorcyclist who was left in a coma after leading police on a high-speed chase through Aberdeen has been spared jail.
Christopher Munro, known as Christie, spent almost two weeks in hospital after crashing into a tree on the old railway line on School Road, Cults, on June 26.
Officers spotted the 28-year-old speeding past them with no registration plate and a passenger on the back.
A “short pursuit” was authorised. A total of eight police vehicles were involved and he was followed through areas including Queen’s Road, Skene Square and South Anderson Drive, at times driving on the wrong side of the road and anti-clockwise on a roundabout. The chase ended in the Thorngrove Avenue area.
Sometime later in Cults, Christie hit a tree and was thrown to the ground.
While his passenger was uninjured, Christie broke 11 bones in his face and was left in a coma.
He later pleaded guilty to driving dangerously without insurance or protective headgear, and while disqualified.
The serial offender appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentencing yesterday, with family members joining him for support.
At a previous hearing, he had been told that any further offending would guarantee him time behind bars.
Sheriff Graeme Napier imposed a nine-month overnight curfew, two years of social work supervision and banned Christie, of Waulkmill Crescent, from the roads for three years.
And he warned: “These are direct alternatives to custody and, despite the fact you almost killed yourself, you will be going to custody if you mess up with this.”
