A teenager drove on to a trunk road with his father across the bonnet after a row about the youngster's lavish lifestyle.

Kerr McGouldrick sped up and then slammed on the brakes twice before managing to throw his father James, a car dealer, off the car and onto the the A977.

The 19-year-old, who had rammed into his father while being confronted about his spending, then drove off leaving him lying at the roadside.

Fiscal depute Jim Eodanable told Perth Sheriff Court: "There have been difficulties because his parents have been concerned about his mismanagement of his earnings. He spends time living between his mother and father.

"As an ultimate sanction, having not been able to get through to his son, he gathered his belongings from his house in Aberdeen and returned them to his mother in Cairneyhill (near Dunfermline).

"He said he was going to sleep in his car. Both were worried for him. Mr McGouldrick decided to head back to Aberdeen and coincidentally decided to stop at the service station for a cup of coffee.

"He spied his son's car in the corner of the car park. His son was coming to from a slumber. He went to speak to him to find out the cause of the financial worries he was having. This quickly led to an argument. The accused got back into the car. His father remonstrated with him. The accused began to make off. His father put his hands above the bonnet, gesturing to stop.

"The accused revs the engine and begins to move forward slowly. The accused picks up pace and propels (him) onto the bonnet. He completes a circuit and moves to the entrance.

"He picks up speed and makes a right-hand turn onto the A977 Kinross to Kincardine Bridge road. This causes Mr McGouldrick to lose his grip of the bonnet and fall off the side."

Mr Eodanable said the complainer suffered grazing and contacted the police, who found his son at his mother's home. He admitted being responsible.

McGouldrick, now 20, admitted acting in a culpable and reckless manner by driving dangerously on February 18 this year. He admitted driving at Mr McGouldrick in the car park at Moto Services near Kinross and forcing him off his feet and onto the bonnet of the Ford Fiesta.

He admitted continuing to drive round the car park at speed while Mr McGouldrick was clinging to the bonnet and trying to dislodge him by braking sharply.

He admitted driving onto the A977 and turning sharply and applying the brakes to bring the vehicle to an abrupt halt, causing his father to lose grip and tumble onto the road.

Solicitor Cheryl McKnight, defending, said: "The family had some concerns about him and were trying to assist him prior to this incident. That was in relation to his finances.

"It had perhaps been interpreted by him as interference and matter boiled over on this date. His parents separated three years earlier and he had difficulty coming to terms with this. He did not intend to cause his father any harm. The incident has massively upset the family, but they have resolved it between them. In a roundabout way it has helped to resolve the relationships.

"His father runs a car dealership and he has offered him employment within that."

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis said: "It would be patently obvious that your actions were inherently dangerous. The whole thing is quite alarming. The possibility of something tragic happening is obvious."

He banned McGouldrick from driving for 10 months and ordered him to carry out 300 hours unpaid work.