Banned Chesterfield driver fled officers on a moped he'd been asked to mend

Liam Booker was challenged by the PCSOs in the town on May 23 when they spotted him coming out of a shop and placed a bag in the under-seat storage area, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Wednesday, September 23.

Prosecuting, Lynn Bickley said: “It was about 7.10pm in the evening and officers were travelling in an unmarked car and they spotted the defendant outside the Co-op.

“They asked him if he was a banned driver and he replied, ‘no, not me’, and he got onto the bike and drove over the pavement in a dangerous manner onto the road. He then drove the motorbike onto a public footpath where they lost sight of him.”

Booker, 20, of Bacons Lane, Birdholme, Chesterfield, admitted driving while disqualified, driving without due care and attention and driving with no insurance when he appeared before the court.

Mitigating, Steve Brint said: “He is a mechanic and his friend asked him to mend the scooter, and he did that and then took it back to him. He’s had a wakeup call because he’s realised that was a very silly thing to do.”

He added that Booker was attempting to turn his life around and had found employment and was looking to move to a different area of Chesterfield away from negative influences.

He also said that Booker has two young children, one of whom suffers from water on the brain and will need significant hospital care.

Sentencing Booker to 18 weeks in custody in a youth detention centre, District Judge Jonathan Taaffe said: “I have to say to you that this is a situation where I think you should have been charged with dangerous driving.

“You have put people at risk, you have driven along a pavement, and you have had no regard for people’s safety.”

He also banned Booker from the roads for a further 12 months and ordered him to pay a £128 victim surcharge on his release from custody.

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