Jail for Wick handyman who failed to complete work orders

A Wick man who twice breached unpaid community work orders has been jailed for eight months.

Handyman Gary Robertson (58) was said to have completed only 17 hours of the substantial orders.

These were imposed at Wick Sheriff Court last year after Robertson admitted charges of driving while disqualified and drug driving.

His solicitor, Sharon Grant, appealed to Sheriff Neil Wilson on Wednesday to allow the accused to finish his unpaid work. She said his mother was disabled and that he had had issues that had prevented him from complying but he was now in a position to get things back on track.

Sheriff Wilson stressed that the work order had been imposed as a direct alternative to prison.

The sheriff made the point that as a self-employed handyman, Robertson had been in a position to carry out the work.

Sheriff Wilson told Miss Grant that the accused first breached the orders in November when he was given one final chance but had not taken it and had breached the orders again by missing work appointments.

The sheriff imposed the direct alternative of eight months prison on the charge of driving while disqualified. The sentence for the drug-driving offence was three months jail but that runs concurrently, which means Robertson serves the eight-month term alone.

Robertson, of Murchison Street, Wick, pleaded guilty previously.

He was caught driving while disqualified on the A9, near the Glenmorangie Distillery in Tain, on February 19.

Later in the year, on December 9, he was arrested after failing a roadside drug test on the A9 at Scrabster. A follow-up test revealed a level of 3.4mcg of the drug delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol - the legal limit is 2mcg.

In addition to unpaid work, he was banned from driving for three years.