Crawley man who rode a motorcycle past police station while drunk is banned from driving

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A Crawley man has been banned from driving after riding a motorcycle past Crawley Police Station over the drink drive limit.

Mihai Apostu, 28, of Railey Road, was spotted near the police station on January 1 by officers dealing with another incident, a court heard.

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Apostu said this was the first and only time he had ridden a motorbike in the UK.

He was picking up the bike from a friend in order to take it to his house and he had a potential buyer to view it, prosecutor Gina Kent said.

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She added: “He had no protective clothing or helmet, no lights on and he was indicating incorrectly.

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“This drew officers’ attention and as he drove past he stared at officers not paying attention to the road.”

Police then heard a crash and found Apostu shortly afterwards trying to ‘dislodge his bike from a parked car’, according to the prosecutor.

She said the car had been written off due to the incident.

Apostu pleaded guilty to driving a motor vehicle while above the legal limit of alcohol and using a motor vehicle without insurance.

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When asked by police if he had insurance, Apostu looked blank asked ‘what’s that’, the court heard.

Apostu had 45 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, but was a ‘man previously of good character’, the prosecutor said.

He apologised for the incident and said in a statement: “What can I say more than I’m terribly sorry and this is never going to happen again.”

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Apostu was banned from driving for 15 months - which magistrates’ chairman Simon Buck-Honour said would be reduced by 15 weeks if he completes a drink driver rehabilitation course - and ordered to pay £670 fines and costs.