Motorcyclist pleads guilty to charge of dangerous driving following incident on A7
And a round-up of some of the other cases calling at Selkirk Sheriff Court...
Last updated 17th Mar 2025
A motorcyclist who overtook a bus on a blind bend, as an articulated lorry approached, has pled guilty to a charge of dangerous driving.
The incident, which was captured on camera, unfolded on the A7 south of Galashiels - near the Yair turn-off - around 11.30am on September 11th last year.
Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Monday) heard that had Jordan Fender attempted the manoeuvre in a car he may not have been so lucky.
The 28-year-old's solicitor, Ross Dow, said: “Had it been a car it would have been a crash, but because he’s on a motorcycle he gets through the gap.”
Fender, of Forthill Terrace in Jedburgh, was a provisional licence holder at the time.
He has been fined £300, disqualified from driving for 12 months, and ordered to resit the extended test.
In addition to the fine, Sheriff Kevin McCarron also ordered Fender to pay a £20 victim surcharge.
Extreme porn
A 19-year-old man has pled guilty to being in possession of extreme porn images showing adults engaging in sexual acvitity with dogs and a rat.
Joshua Simmons, from Innerleithen, has also admitted possession of dozens of indecent images and videos of children.
The offences took place at his home in George Street and elsewhere between June 2021 and March last year.
Sentence has been deferred at Selkirk Sheriff Court until April 28th for background reports, and he's been placed on the Sex Offenders Register meantime.
Bit finger
A 38-year-old woman who bit a man's finger - causing it to bleed - and attempted to bite another during a disturbance at a pub in Selkirk has been given six months to prove she can behave.
Jillian McCoy, also known as Jillian Watson, also slapped a phone out of a woman's hand and attempted to punch her, after taking "umbrage" to something that was said, at the Fleece on April 13th last year.
She also pleaded guilty to sending abusive voicemails to her former partner and attending at his place of work between January and February last year.
McCoy's solicitor, Liam Alexander, said his client couldn't remember the incident but had stayed out of trouble since.
Sentence has been deferred at Selkirk Sheriff Court until September. Meantime, McCoy has been given a non-harassment order preventing her from contacting her former partner for the next two years.
Fake licence
A court's heard how a 52-year-old Syrian man paid around 600 Euros for a fake Polish driving licence online, because his lack of English made it difficult to obtain a valid UK one.
Abdul Nasser Mohammed Al Khatib, of Glebe Place, Galashiels, was caught after being stopped by police on the A7 in Stow on September 12th last year.
He pled guilty to being in possession of the false ID when he appeared at Selkirk Sheriff Court today.
The refugee's solicitor, Mat Patrick, explained his client - who has lived in the country with his wife and four children since 2019 - receives around £1,600 a month in benefits and is in a position to pay a financial penalty.
Sheriff Kevin McCarron fined Al Khatib - who had proceedings relayed to him through an interpretor - £400 and ordered him to pay a £20 victim surcharge.
Rape charge
A 17-year-old man from the Scottish Borders has appeared in court charged with two counts of rape and sexual assault.
The teenager - who can't be named due to his age - also faces three domestic abuse charges.
He made no plea to all seven charges when he appeared in private at Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Monday).
He was committed for further examination and released on bail.
Assault charge
Two women have appeared in court in the Borders charged with assault to severe injury.
Thirty-nine-year-old Leanne Morton, who gave an address in Hawick, and 60-year-old Hazel Reid, who is also accused of assaulting or impeding police, both made no plea during a private appearance at Selkirk Sheriff Court.
They were committed for further examination, and released on bail.
Not guilty plea
A 37-year-old man has appeared in court charged with pretending to three women in Peebles that he had washed their windows, and inducing one of them - aged 88 at the time - to pay him £10.
Lee Handren, whose address was given as Edinburgh, is alleged to have committed the fraud in the town's Kingsland Square and elsewhere on November 22nd last year.
He's also accused of resisting arrest and behaving in a threatening or abusive manner on a journey to Hawick police station on the same date.
Handren, who represented himself, pled not guilty to all three charges when he appeared in the dock at Selkirk Sheriff Court on Monday.
The case has been continued to trial on June 10th, with an intermediate hearing on May 26th.
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