Woman let girl under 10 drive car through village

A woman with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, with a beige checked shirt and sunglasses, arrives at court. She has a water bottle tucked under her arm and is holding an iPhone.
Image caption,

Sophie-Leigh Gemmell admitted culpable and reckless conduct

  • Published

A woman allowed a girl who was under 10 years old to drive a car through a Scottish village, a court has heard.

Sophie-Leigh Gemmell, 32, admitted culpable and reckless conduct after footage emerged of the incident in Crimond, Aberdeenshire.

The young girl was driving the car barefoot and in bad weather on 10 July last year.

At Peterhead Sheriff Court, sentence on Gemmell was deferred for reports until next month.

Media caption,

A video of the incident was seen on social media

She admitted culpably and recklessly, and with utter disregard for the consequences, allowing a child to drive a motor vehicle on a public road in poor weather and barefoot to the danger of others - in particular to the child.

A video of the incident, which lasted about a minute, was seen on social media.

It showed the child driving in the dark, using the wipers and indicators and peering over the steering wheel.

She has bare feet and music is playing, including by Sugababes in one section.

Gemmell, from Crimond, can be heard cheering during the video.

Sentence was deferred by Sheriff Annella Cowan to obtain a criminal justice social work report on Gemmell, who declined to comment as she left court.

A street sign that says welcome to crimond beside a road with a lone white car under a blue sky with white clouds.
Image caption,

The young girl was driving the car in the village of Crimond, Aberdeenshire.

Related topics