A TILLICOULTRY man who left a woman seriously injured after taking her on a drunken terror drive through Clacks has been jailed for two years.

Michael Cairns, 30, drove at speed over a steel barrier and into a stone wall after picking up his friend's girlfriend from a night out.

He then fled, leaving the 23-year-old to clamber out of the car with a broken collar bone as smoke billowed from the wreckage.

Falkirk Sheriff Court heard she had been begging him to slow down before the collision in Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire, on February 9, 2019.

Prosecutor Alex Kirk said the woman had walked to Alloa Railway Station after a night out in the town and phoned her boyfriend to get her

She added that the complainer was "of the belief" that Cairns was with her boyfriend when he took the call.

A short time later, a dark-coloured BMW 3-series arrived at the station, driven by Cairns.

Mrs Kirk said: "[She] knew the accused and her boyfriend to be close friends she assumed he was there to collect her instead of her boyfriend and she got into the car.

"She asked him why he was there, rather than her boyfriend, and where he was taking her.

"She noticed he was slow to respond to these questions and that he was heavily under the influence of alcohol."

Cairns said he was taking her to his home, where, he claimed, her boyfriend was waiting.

Mrs Kirk said: "During the journey he travelled at excessive speed. [She] was alarmed at the manner of his driving, and asked him on a number of occasions to slow down as he was in a built-up residential area.

"However, he took no heed."

Police, who saw the car speeding past Fishcross PS at 2am, began pursuit but the vehicle continued on the A908 towards Tillicoultry and onto Moss Road, where Cairns lost control.

Mrs Kirk said: "As he approached the mini roundabout at the top of the road, which connects with the main A91, [the female passenger] became terrified they'd crash as Mr Cairns was driving too fast.

"The car travelled over the top of this mini-roundabout, struck and flattened a metal barrier on the footpath, continued over the top of the barrier, and struck a substantial stone boundary wall.

"[She] immediately felt pain on the left side of her neck and chest and was struck by the deploying airbag."

Cairns immediately got out of the car and ran off – leaving his passenger in the wreckage.

She managed to exit only after a "struggle" to open the passenger door.

Police arrived to find smoke pouring from the car's engine bay.

The underside of the car "appeared to have taken significant damage" – shattered parts were strewn about, and though police could see Cairns running away and intended to chase him on foot, it became immediately apparent that fuel was pouring from crashed car and the police stopped and requested the immediate assistance of the fire brigade.

After firefighters doused the car to make it safe, a shattered phone could be heard ringing from inside with the boyfriend of the passenger calling.

Concerned, he made his way to the scene and identified the smashed car as his friends

Mrs Kirk added: "He was unsure why [his girlfriend] was in it."

Cairns then phoned police several times from an undisclosed location, lying that his car had been stolen.

Mrs Kirk said: "He sounded heavily under the influence."

He was traced and arrested later.

The woman was given a sling to wear for three weeks, but her broken clavicle did not heal, and needed surgery.

Cairns, of Johnston Crescent, Tillicoultry, pleaded guilty to causing serious injury by dangerous driving, and attempting to pervert the course of justice and appeared for sentencing on Tuesday, October 20.

Solicitor Robert Smith, defending, said Cairns, who had been drinking on top of taking anti-depressants, "through a cloud of alcohol took the catastrophic decision to go and collect this girl".

Imposing the two-year jail term, Sheriff Derek Hamilton questioned why Cairns had gone to collect her at all – since her boyfriend was going to get her.

The sheriff said Cairns was "clearly a man of violence" with a number of assault convictions, as well as motoring offences and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He told the accused: "It's the end of the road for you, Mr Cairns."