A teenager has admitted shouting vile racist taunts about "burning" black people through a megaphone - but claims not to be a racist.
Brodie Thomson’s dreams of joining the military now hang in the balance after he was fined £420 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for causing fear and alarm.
Horrified residents saw Thomson, 19, shouting about "burning" black people as he sat in the boot of a car in Ellon, Aberdeenshire, in October last year.
He also played a loud siren over a megaphone and used a racist term for black people.
Mr Thomson's solicitor Neil McRobert told the court that after being released by the police and "having properly reflected on what he had done" he wrote a letter to the Procurator Fiscal's office in which he said he was "remorseful and mortified" by the incident.
Mr McRobert said the tyre fitter was "very, very horrified and disgusted" about what he shouted through the megaphone.
Mr McRobert added: "He tells me he doesn't hold racist views and he is upfront about the conduct, of which he is very remorseful.
"His mother wanted to attend court today but obviously, due to restrictions, wasn't allowed - but she told me that this was not the way he was brought up.”
Mr McRobert also told the court that Thomson had aspirations to join the armed forces, which may now not be possible as a result of the racism charge.
Sheriff Morag McLaughlin told Thomson that she took the matter "very seriously" when the case called on Tuesday.
She added: "You pleaded guilty straight away and that is to your credit and I also saw with interest the letter that you sent to the fiscal because it showed that you had obviously reflected on your behaviour and were genuinely remorseful.
"What was said was shocking.
"I think part of the thing that makes it very difficult to hear things like that is that they either suggest that someone is holding racist views or it is what can otherwise be termed casual racism', which is also extremely offensive.
"I hope you have reflected on that and how unacceptable that sort of behaviour is in our society."
Sheriff McLaughlin said that as Thomson, of Hospital Court, Ellon, had no previous convictions and had admitted the charge at the first opportunity she would fine him £420.
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