A68: Doctor pleads guilty to charge of careless driving

A court’s heard how a motorist on the A68 was forced to take evasive action to avoid a collision with a doctor on his way to Borders General Hospital - and ended up on a grass verge.

Osama Elgazzar was originally charged with dangerous driving, after attempting to overtake in the face of oncoming traffic between Carfraemill and Lauder, on April 18th.

But the 31-year-old Egyptian national, who lives in Edinburgh, pled guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving.

Selkirk Sheriff Court today (Monday) heard Elgazzar, who’s training as a GP, told police he was trying to get to the BGH on time.

His solicitor described it as a "momentary misjudgement", but pointed out his licence is essential for his job.

Sheriff Ian Anderson fined Elgazzar a total of £320 and added four penalty points to his licence.

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