A motorist deliberately drove into a crowd of kids he suspected of throwing stones at his car.
Thomas McPhee slowed down at the last minute after mounting the pavement but struck four of the six youngsters.
Unemployed McPhee escaped a prison sentence on Thursday but was ordered to pay each of the four £250.
He was disqualified from driving for 27 months and ordered to pass an extended test of competence to drive.
He was also placed under social work supervision for 18 months and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work.
McPhee was warned he faced imprisonment if he failed to comply with any of the conditions of the court orders, especially payment of the compensation.
The 39-year-old father-of-one was originally charged with assaulting the youngsters by driving his black Honda Civic Type S towards them and striking them to danger of life.
However, he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of driving dangerously at speed and striking the group of young pedestrians with his car in Fulmar Brae, Livingston, West Lothian, on August 28, 2021
Chris Yule, prosecuting, told Livingston Sheriff Court that two children aged 13, one aged 12 and an 11-year-old had sustained minor injuries as a result of McPhee’s driving.
Iain Smith, defending, said his client had expressed his deep regret at his actions.
He said: “He tells me a day doesn’t go by when he doesn’t regret what he did. He’s glad that none of the children were seriously injured.”
Mr Smith said McPhee believed that the children had thrown stones at his vehicles earlier that day and had driven back to “give them a piece of his mind”.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Martin Edington told McPhee that the case passed the threshold for a custodial sentence.
He said: “It seems to me that this was impulsive rather than planned, but equally it was quite deliberate ... but – by the narrowest of margins – I’m persuaded by everything I’ve been told that an alternative to custody is appropriate in this case.”
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