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

A Crawley man has been banned from driving after riding a motorcycle past Crawley Police Station over the drink drive limit.
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Mihai Apostu, 28, of Railey Road, was spotted near the police station on January 1 by officers dealing with another incident, a court heard.

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

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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.

Sussex PoliceSussex Police
Sussex Police

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

“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.

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

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.