Ice slide boy in court

A 14-YEAR-old Selby boy prosecuted for making ice patches on the street outside his home was today given an absolute discharge by York magistrates.The boy was charged with endangering road users following the incident on December 2 last year.Prosecutor Jane Evans said the boy had poured water on the freezing road to make icy patches. One was six to seven feet long, another one 10 feet.He was warned by a traffic officer but persisted."He accepted that he had been told by the traffic officer but could not explain why he had done it," Ms Evans said.Nick Darwin defending, said the boy was with three friends when the offence took place. None of the others had been brought to court, he said."This is the sort of thing boys have done throughout history - making slides. If winter sets in again he will not be involved in this again".Murkhill Road in Selby, where the offence happened, was a residential road, and did not carry much traffic, Mr Darwin said."No one fell foul of this. No-one was involved in any accident, but the mere creation of danger was sufficient to cause the offence," he said."It is not a case of someone deliberately causing danger, it is a case of a young man creating a slide."The magistrates said that although the boy was guilty of the offence he should not pay any penalty and no costs were awarded against him.Afterwards the boy's father described the prosecution as a waste of time."I feel quite bitter about it, it is a bit much" he said."We will want planning permission to build a snowman next". His son said: "I think it's daft".