A learner-driver who piled his father's car into a bus stop, then kicked in his own front door in a bid to fake its theft, has been spared jail.
Carlo Cesari, 21, was over three-and-a-half times the drink-driving limit at the time of the incident, on May 20, 2022.
Falkirk Sheriff Court was told that about 3.30 am police were phoned by Cesari, who reported his dad's Renault Scenic Authentique had been stolen from his home in the town's St Crispin's Place.
Prosecutor Rachel Hill said: "He said his front door had been kicked in and the keys to his father's car had been taken."
Officers immediately went to the scene.
While en route they passed a Renault Scenic matching the description of the "stolen vehicle" abandoned in Cochrane Avenue, 350 yards from Cesari's home.
Miss Hill said: "It was lying in the middle of the road with it's front bumper and offside panels heavily damaged and it appeared to have struck a bus stop sign, which had been shattered as a result.
"Fragments were strewn across the road."
A number plate check showed the car was in fact Cesari's father's.
Officers carried on to Cesari's flat, and found him at home, intoxicated and smelling of drink.
Miss Hill said: "He was incredibly agitated, and after being informed that officers had traced his father's car, he began rambling about his home being broken into.
"He showed the police the front door of his flat, which had been kicked with force.
"He was asked to provide a DNA sample, but was extremely reluctant to do so.
"The police noticed fresh footprint on the front door was identical to the trainers he was wearing.
"He became even more agitated, and blurted out that he had been driving and crashed his father's car.
"He pleaded with the police not to inform his father, who was sound asleep in the next room.
"He went on to say he had kicked his own door and concocted the story of the car theft."
He then admitted being the driver and that he had been drinking. He was arrested and taken to Falkirk Police Station, where he gave a sample of breath that proved on analysis to contained 79 microgrammes of alcohol in every 100 millilitres, 3.59 times the legal limit, which is 22.
Part of a key fob to the Scenic was found in his trouser pocket.
Cesari pleaded guilty to drink-driving; driving carelessly and losing control and colliding with the bus stop sign; driving without insurance; driving without L-plates and unsupervised while still a learner; and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
His plea of not guilty to taking the Scenic without his father's consent was accepted by the Crown.
Solicitor Mark Fallon, defending, said that Cesari's father had been visiting Cesari's flat at the time of the incident.
He said that, according to a background report, Cesari was suitable for unpaid work as an alternative to jail.
Sheriff Christopher Shead ordered Cesari to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work, and disqualified him from driving for 12 months.
He added: "If you don't co-operate with this order you'll be brought back to court and sentenced again for these offences, which in your case, despite your age, I'm afraid might be a custodial sentence."
Leaving court, Cesari ignored a reporter's request for a comment.
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