Drunk Kirkby moped rider who sparked police chase on footpaths ‘should have known better’
A learner moped rider from Kirkby who panicked and sparked a police chase along footpaths and dirt roads “should have known better,” a court has heard.
Police began following Liam Roose on Quarry Lane, Mansfield, because he had no front light or L plate, at 9.45pm on December 17, said prosecutor Donna Fawcett.
When Roose U-turned onto a footpath and barely got past the barrier that blocked it, the officers span around and drove to where the footpath ended with lights and siren activated.
Roose passed Mansfield Town FC before riding down a dirt track behind the Odeon cinema, but lost his balance and fell off after 200 metres.
He discarded his helmet and ran but was detained after a short chase.
A breath test at the police station revealed he had 69 microgrammes in alcohol when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
Vicky Clarson, mitigating, said Roose, who has no previous convictions, had the moped stolen a few days before but discovered it damaged, after having a few drinks, earlier that evening.
“He simply panicked because he had not been in a situation like that before,” she said. “He is now 31 and should know better.”
Roose, a provisional licence holder, paid £350 for the moped and has sold it for parts for £100, Ms Clarson said.
He will now have to cycle to his job in a warehouse.
Roose, of Rosewood Drive, Kirkby, admitted drink driving, failing to stop and driving without due care and attention, when he appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Wednesday.
Disqualifying him for 22 months, the presiding magistrate told him: “This very expensive evening will cost you £809.”