Owner Edward Casher, 34, let Steven Jerrit behind the wheel of the car - despite neither man having third party insurance. Casher, of Ocean Drive, Edinburgh, was fined £265 and was given eight penalty points after his friend drove at excessive speeds on Marine Esplanade on October 31.

Jerrit, 35, of Duff Street, Edinburgh, was fined £400 for driving without insurance and careless driving after he lost control of the car, left the road and hit an embankment. Defence agent Nigel Bruce told Sheriff Graeme Warner that both men "were of an age when they should have known better".

He said: "It was a rather expensive car. A £30,000 Jaguar". Edinburgh Sheriff Court also heard that the owner was now faced with paying £600 a month for the written-off car. His lawyer said both men were paying the bill.