Scooter rider gets B-test drive ban

Barry Mitchell, 23, of Clifton, said he was "gutted" when York magistrates handed him a year's ban for drink-driving, after he was caught riding his 15mph petrol driven Go-Ped when he was more than twice the legal alcohol limit and had no insurance.

He was also given a £50 fine and £50 costs after pleading guilty to the offence.

But Mitchell, who regularly uses his £260 Go-Ped, said he had no idea it was illegal to ride it on a public highway without insurance and while over the alcohol limit, as he had not been warned of this when he bought it in Leeds a year ago.

"I think it's totally disgusting - I bought it in good faith," he said, adding that he had only expected to be fined in court.

Mitchell was on his way home from the pub when he was stopped by police in Water Lane on December 1 last year.

"I wasn't in my car so I didn't think anything of it," he said.

Sentencing Mitchell, York magistrates warned owners of this kind of scooter that they needed insurance to ride them.

Their warning echoed that of Selby Police, who earlier this year carried out a crackdown on similar machines after hundreds of unsuspecting parents were believed to have bought them for their children as Christmas presents.

One of them, Special Constable Neil Williams, said his daughter Rachael was "very disappointed" that the 5mph battery powered machine he bought her for Christmas was now back in its box after he discovered she could not ride it on public roads or footpaths.

Earlier this year, York trading standards' chiefs joined in the crackdown by warning parents to get "clued up" on the laws governing the scooters.

In 2001, 19-year-old Stephen Wainwright, of Brayton, was given a three-year driving ban for riding one while over the alcohol limit.

Wainwright's solicitor told the court that the teenager was also not aware of their legal classification as motor vehicles.

Updated: 10:41 Monday, June 28, 2004