A driver caught on the road without a licence or insurance had been previously been suspended from driving because of a medical condition, Wick Sheriff Court heard.
Gordon Green’s licence had been suspended by the DVLA on account of his epileptic condition.
Green, 46, pleaded guilty and also admitted a record.
He was fined £300 and banned from driving for six months.
Police, engaged in an unrelated inquiry, came upon Green’s abandoned car at Lhaid, on the A882 near the village of Watten on February 20.
Inquiries revealed that the accused had been the driver and that he did not have a valid licence or insurance.
Solicitor Fiona MacDonald said that Green’s licence had been suspended because of his epilepsy which was not his only health issue.
She said: “He had a panic attack during the day and he had to get away and drove the car. He realises it was the wrong thing to do.”
Sheriff Andrew Berry, who saw confirmation of Green’s condition from his GP, said he was unclear as to what penalty to impose, given the accused’s limited income and the fact that imposing unpaid work was not feasible.
However, Miss MacDonald explained that Green would be able to pay a fine given sufficient time.
Banning Green, of Halkirk village, Sheriff Berry said that any further such offending would constitute driving while disqualified and warned him that would be “a very serious matter”.
