A MAN facing a prison sentence for seriously injuring his girlfriend in a dangerous driving incident, months before she was found dead in woods, has been jailed for another driving offence.

Lewis Reid pleaded guilty at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on December 16 to driving dangerously and at excessive speed along the Helensburgh seafront last year.

The 22-year-old admitted making a sudden braking manoueuvre, mounting a grass verge and crossing over into the opposite carriageway on West Clyde Street on October 5, 2018.

The incident happened two months after Reid left his then partner, Codey Brown, badly hurt when he accelerated away while she was leaning into his car window outside her home in Kilmarnock.

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Ms Brown's body was discovered in a woodland area in Dean Park in Kilmarnock in March.

Describing the Helensburgh incident, fiscal depute Emma Thomson told the December 16 hearing: "It was quarter to five in the morning when police on patrol in Helensburgh observed a red Ford Fiesta doing an emergency braking manoeuvre and coming to a stop.

"The car then proceeded to drive off, mount a grass verge and move into the opposing carriageway, travelling east at speed towards Helensburgh town centre.

"Thereafter the vehicle was lost from sight and police were stood down, but a short time later the same vehicle was seen in the Dumbarton area, again being driven at excessive speed."

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Police eventually traced Reid on November 8, when he told them: "That was me."

Reid's solicitor told the court his client, who was brought into the dock in handcuffs, had been remanded in custody to await sentence for his previous offences.

He said that matter had been referred to the High Court for sentencing because the presiding sheriff in Kilmarnock felt her sentencing powers were insufficient.

Last month, Reid pleaded guilty to 21 other offences at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, while the Crown accepted not guilty pleas to a further 26 charges.

The offences were committed in Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Glasgow between August 2018 and July this year.

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At this month's hearing in Dumbarton, Reid also admitted a charge of driving the Fiesta in Helensburgh without insurance.

He originally faced three further charges alleging that he had failed to stop for a police officer in uniform, had stolen fuel from a filling station in Alexandria, and had fraudulently used a registration mark on his vehicle, but his not guilty pleas to those charges were accepted by the Crown.

Sheriff Maxwell Hendry told Reid: "It's clear that whatever happens here will be rather insignificant compared to what is likely to happen in the High Court."

Reid was banned for two years and fined a total of £600 for the two charges, but no time was sought to pay the fine, and he was told he would serve the alternative prison sentence.

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