A bogus taxi driver has been banned from the roads after hitting speeds of almost 100mph with two young women in the back because he was “late for his next fare”.

John Krenski (61), left, denied driving dangerously at speeds of more than 90mph and overtaking cars forcing them to take evasive action, driving without a taxi licence and having defects on his vehicle, but was found guilty of all charges after a trial at Stirling Sheriff Court.

Giving evidence, witness Hayleigh Sillars said she and her friend Lisa Archibald were heading from Alloa to Stirling for a night out on 20 December last year when their driver – who was not even licenced to operate a taxi service – started to speed in the dark on wet roads.

Police – who eventually ended up taking the girls to their destination – said they struggled to keep up with him.

Miss Sillars said, “I got in the car at Lisa’s house and at first everything seemed fine. I had concerns when he started really picking up speed on the 60mph road.

“He was going about 90-100mph at least. It was fast. We were both pretty scared. I remember Lisa pointing at the speedometer and we both saw what speed he was doing. It was between 90 and 95mph.” Miss Sillars said the driver overtook cars on the main road between Alloa and Stirling and also on a road in Stirling heading towards Morrisons supermarket. She said, “He overtook two or three cars when he was heading towards Morrisons. That’s when we saw the speedometer at 90mph. His driving was erratic when he was overtaking.” Their journey was brought to a stop when Krenski was pulled over by the police. Miss Sillars said she had seen no cars heading towards them when the driver was overtaking, but two police witnesses both told the court Krenski overtook into oncoming traffic.

Special Constable Michael Robertson (22) said they spotted Krenski speeding while at the Blackgrange Roundabout on the A907 between Alloa and Stirling at around 10pm.

He said, “We observed the vehicle overtaking four vehicles into oncoming traffic. We had to travel in excess of 90mph to catch up with the vehicle. The oncoming traffic was forced to take evasive action.” After the hair-raising journey Hayleigh and her pal were given a lift to the Fubar by the police.

She posted on Facebook, “Stuck in the back of a taxi which apparently isn’t a taxi... Whilst he gets done for his erratic driving and we are getting a lift to fubar in a police car!! BEEMUR!!” She later boasted that the constables handed over their hats for the girls to pose for selfies with.

First offender Krenski, of Balfour Street in Alloa, is a driver of more than 40 years and claimed he was being “picked on” by the police.

He also claimed to be operating as a “private chauffeur” not a taxi driver, but Sheriff William Gilchrist said he was clearly operating a private hire cab.

The sheriff banned Krenski from driving for a year and fined him £500.