The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Driver avoids prison for steering with his knees
Car dealer, 6ft 6in tall, sat on headrest and waved
A 6ft 6in car dealer who drove a small convertible while sitting on the headrest, steering with his knees andwaving to other drivers has narrowly escaped jail, a judge said.
Adam Elliott, 26, was also stood up at times as he drove the Ford Ka through Newcastle city centre, with his head well above the windscreen, as other drivers tooted their horns.
He admitted dangerous driving at a previous hearing and Judge Robert Adams, sitting at Newcastle Crown Court, handed himanine-monthjail term, suspended for 18 months, fined him £100 and ordered him to pay £1,500 prosecution costs.
He will be disqualified from driving for two years andwill carryout 150 hours of rehabilitation activity.
Elliott’s barrister Nick Cartmell said: “It was an act of complete buffoonery.
“It was an act of extreme foolishness.”
Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said another driver spotted Elliott and was so concerned by his driving that he gave police a running commentary over the phone as he followed him.
Traffic cameras picked Elliott up driving the Ka he was selling.
Mr Wardlaw said: “At various times the defendant was either standing up or in the vehicle with his feet on the driver’s seat, his knees either side of the steering wheel, steering with his knees.”
Elliott was stopped by a traffic officer and after initially being jovial, he became “aggressive and petulant”, the court heard.
Elliott has 69 previous convictions, including 13 offences of driving while disqualified, 18 of driving without insurance, thefts, dangerous driving and fraud.
The judge said Elliott’s previous denials that he was stood up, claiming the charge was merely a result of being tall, were “total nonsense” and a lie.