A 65-YEAR-OLD Crossgates woman who was caught driving while disqualified has had another ban imposed.

A neighbour saw Iona Coupar driving and knew she had been banned.

Coupar, of Droverhall Avenue, appeared back in the dock at Dunfermline Sheriff Court.

She admitted previously that on February 17, in Droverhall Avenue, she drove while banned from the roads.

She also drove a car without an MOT.

Coupar made a bid to avoid another ban by making a plea of “special reasons” for driving.

She told the court she had “panicked” when her partner was struggling to breathe because of his COPD condition.

She said she had contacted a friend to get an inhaler from her and was driving to Mossmorran to meet her.

However, depute fiscal Mat Piskorz asked Coupar why she had told police she was driving to buy tobacco.

She claimed she could not recall saying this.

Sheriff Francis Gill rejected her special reasons plea and told Coupar: “I find it very concerning you drove on this occasion when you knew you were disqualified.”

He pointed out she could have called an ambulance or a taxi.

The sheriff imposed another ban of 16 months and a community payback order with 100 hours of unpaid work.

At a previous hearing, the court heard Coupar’s neighbours were aware that she had been banned from driving last year when the case was covered in the local media.

At 5.30pm, a neighbour, who was an off-duty policeman, saw her driving her car.

He spoke to her and asked if she should be driving and she admitted she should not be.

In October last year, Coupar was sentenced for drug-driving on the B9157 near Aberdour and Braefoot Bay.

On that occasion, an off-duty police officer became concerned at Coupar’s erratic driving.

He decided he would have to stop her car and when she pulled into the staff car park at Braefoot Bay, he blocked the entrance so she could not leave.

The court was told her condition was due to drugs she had taken because of a headache but she had not checked what they were.

On that occasion, she was fined £575 and banned from driving for 16 months.