A woman let a child drive a car through a village during a rainstorm, a court has heard.
Sophie-Leigh Gemmell allowed the girl, who was aged under 10 at the time, to take the wheel of the vehicle in July last year.
The 32-year-old yesterday admitted culpable and reckless conduct after footage emerged of the incident in Crimond, Aberdeenshire.
Following an appearance at Peterhead Sheriff Court, sentence on Gemmell was deferred until next month pending reports.
She admitted allowing a child to drive a motor vehicle on a public road in poor weather and barefoot to the danger of others, including the child.
A video of the incident was seen on social media app Snapchat.
It showed the child driving in the dark, using the wipers and indicators and peering over the steering wheel.
Gemmell, from Crimond, can be heard cheering during the video.
At court, she sat in silence while her defence solicitor, Iain Jane, lodged her guilty plea.
A woman let a child drive a car through a village during a rain storm, a court has heard. Sophie-Leigh Gemmell (pictured) allowed the girl, who was aged under 10 at the time, to take the wheel of the vehicle in July last year
A video of the incident was seen on social media app Snapchat. It showed the child driving in the dark, using the wipers and indicators and peering over the steering wheel
Gemmell, from Crimond, can be heard cheering during the video. At court, she sat in silence while her defence solicitor, Iain Jane, lodged her guilty plea
The BBC reported that the sentence was deferred by Sheriff Annella Cowan to obtain a criminal justice social work report on Gemmell.
In Scotland, a child can apply for a provisional driving license at 15 years and 9 months old, but they cannot drive a car on public roads until they are 17.
Children must use a car seat until they are 12 years old or 135cm tall (4ft 4in), whichever comes first.
There have been previous incidents in the UK where children have driven vehicles that have resulted in police taking action.
A 12-year-old was accused of stealing a BMW X5 with a holiday caravan attached before taking it on a 40-mile joyride.
The boy was allegedly spotted by police after driving at Garforth, outside Leeds, in March this year. Police following the boy said he was barely able to see over the wheel of the car.
He was ordered to appear at Harrogate Magistrates’ Court on charges of theft of a motor vehicle, driving it dangerously and handling stolen goods but he failed to turn up and police had to issue an arrest warrant.
When the caravan was stolen, its owner Janine Forth, of Leeds, took to Facebook to praise the ‘amazing police response’ after seeing the robbery unfold.
She said: ‘We arrived at the caravan site just as they had hitched it up and were driving away with it. The caravan had all the up-to -date security.’
After the theft Sergeant Paul Cording said he ‘struggled to comprehend’ what he found when the car was pulled over, despite having 23 years of service in the police.
