1872 law collars boozed-up rider

Anthony Dancer, charged under a Victorian law

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A VICTORIAN law proved costly for drink-driver Anthony Dancer.

The 24-year-old was stopped twice in a month for driving his £250 electric moped, which has a top speed of 15mph, while over the limit.

Dancer, of Cherry Avenue, Alt, had pleaded not guilty to charges of being in charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink and with alcohol above the legal limit.

He was due to stand trial at Oldham Magistrates Court but the prosecution agreed that his second-hand Fun 9 electric bike was not classed as a motor vehicle because he did not need road tax, insurance, a licence or a helmet to ride it.

Instead, a law from 1872 was used to charge him with being drunk in charge of a pedal cycle and drunk in charge of a carriage because on that occasion the pedals had been removed to allow him to push the moped without banging his shins.

He pleaded guilty to both charges yesterday in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Oldham.

Dancer was spotted by a police officer in Elm Road, Limeside, at around 6.10pm on February 11 this year.

Prosecutor Duncan Wilcock said: “He saw the defendant on the side of the road pushing the electric scooter toward the kerb with the motor on.

“The officer saw the defendant was unsteady on his feet. The defendant struggled to set the bike on its stand.”

Dancer admitted he had drunk four pints of cider in two hours at a friend’s house. A breath test showed he had 83 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, more than twice the legal limit of 35.

At approximately 7.50pm on March 12 he was spotted by another officer driving at about 10mph without lights.

Mr Wilcock added: “Mr Dancer was riding the same vehicle along King Street roundabout, over the pedestrian crossing and o to a footpath at the side of the roundabout.”

The officer smelled alcohol on his breath and a test had a reading of 81 microgrammes.

Richard Williamson, defending, said Dancer’s step-father had bought the bike, which can be pedalled but also has an electric motor, for him after researching it on the internet.

He told the court: “Anthony Dancer, when it was purchased, did not think there was an offence of being drunk in charge of a carriage.”

He added: “He has now learnt his lesson. He now knows what the situation is and I do not think it will be repeated.”

The court heard that Dancer had a previous conviction for drink-driving in 2006 when he was banned for 16 months.

He was fined a total of £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £15 victim surcharge. Magistrates said they could not impose penalty points because the Fun 9 was not a vehicle.