Bury St Edmunds Magistrates Court.

Using a mobility scooter while more than three times the drink-drive limit landed a pensioner in court.

David Hutchinson had been drinking the night before to celebrate his 65th birthday.

He admitted a charge of being drunk in charge of a pedal cycle at Red Lodge when he appeared before magistrates at Bury St Edmunds.

As the mobility scooter is not classed as a mechanically propelled vehicle, he was prosecuted for being drunk in charge of a bicycle. The court heard that at the time of the offence, Hutchinson was already the subject of a suspended prison sentence for driving a car while disqualified and with excess alcohol.

Magistrates extended the period of his suspended four-month prison sentence by three months, ordered him to pay a £75 fine and £100 costs

Guide to shoplifting?

Students  have published a "guide to shoplifting," which includes top-techniques on how to avoid CCTV and plead innocence if caught. The British Retail Consortium have branded the guide,which urges cash-strapped students to ignore moral concerns and follow it's guidelines, an irresponsible piece of writing. One of the editors has apparently responded by saying that the whole piece is merely satirical.

Stems from stem.

New insights into neural studies tend to show that potential criminal and psychopathic behaviour may be predicted in children even as young as six months of age. Apparently traits within the brain that predict anti-social behaviour can be detected and used to determine whether a child is likely to commit offences in later life. It is still under research, but experts say it could be possible to carry out these somewhat controversial tests in the near future. Big brother and the potential end of the extensive court system?

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Gender and vehicle insurance.

Giant price changes are likely to happen if the European Court rule on the 1^st March to condemn insurers for charging different insurance prices according to gender. If such a ruling was passed, then gender will no longer be taken into account as much as it used to. Younger women, who pay less on average for motoring insurance than men, would find prices increasing massively. Younger men may experience a slight drop in premiums. However, gender could be a very variable factor in accounting for coverage, owing to the increased likelihood of certain illnesses in either sex.  

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Drink Driving 'Bill' Star.

Louisa Lytton, better known as PC Beth Green in The Bill, found herself on the other side of the law when she was charged with drink driving. She was alleged to be under the influence of alcohol after going out in Central London on Saturday evening. She is due to appear in the magistrates court on February 11^th.

When to ignore the Sat-Nav directions?

A four year old girl died in a car crash after the family Sat-Nav gave them instructions contrary to the road signs. Ariana Bardhaj was killed when her parent’s car collided with another on the A6. Parents Fernando and Trish Bardhaj said they hadn’t seen the ‘no right turn’ signs when they turning onto station road. 

Ariana died of multiple injuries  She and her brother were sitting in the back of the family's Vauxhall Astra when it collided with an Audi A5. The Audi struck the back passenger door where Ariana was sitting. A Greater Manchester Police officer told the hearing:

‘They were following a Sat-Nav that told them to turn right, however there’s plenty of signage saying ‘no right turn.'

The Sat-Nav did carry a warning telling motorists to follow road signs. However, the learner driver Mr Ariana (who had just taken over the driving from his wife) apparently ignored these warnings.

Villa player lacking a defence?

Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne has been banned from driving after ignoring a no entry sign and driving the wrong way down a one way street.

Magistrates were informed that he had already ‘totted up’ nine points on his licence and told him he would be disqualified from driving for six months. Dunned pleaded guilty last month telling the court he had been ‘very apologetic’ and pulled over immediately when he was stopped by an unmarked police car. In mitigation it was said that the 31 year old was trying to find a place to park his Range Rover and that the traffic on the road was ‘light to medium’. Dunne was ordered to pay a £333 fine.