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2008-10-21 09:24:06
David Byers
A motorcyclist who posted footage of himself on YouTube performing "lunatic and grossly irresponsible manoeuvres" at up to 130mph was today jailed for 12 weeks today.
Sandor Ferenci, 28, performed wheelies, skids and raced on the opposite side of the road around Banbury, Oxfordshire, and then put the footage on the video-sharing website.
Ferenci, a carer, then inadvertently spilt the beans to police about the YouTube footage after being reported by a member of the public who saw him performing wheelies and other stunts on his Yamaha R6 bike on the A422 Banbury to Brackley road on June 10 this year.
When officers called at his home after the complaint, and before they had a chance to say anything to him, Ferenci asked them: Is this about the YouTube video? Police then discovered that he had posted the video clips of himself on the internet.
The footage, which was played to the court, had been filmed by a friend from various angles including from a footbridge. It shows the bike performing wheelies, wheelspins and skids, causing the tyres to smoke, the bike undertaking other vehicles and driving at excessive speed.
Brian Payne, prosecuting, said it was impossible to attribute an exact speed at which Ferenci was driving, but police have estimated he may have reached up to 130mph.
Judge Terence Maher - disqualifying Ferenci from driving for two years at Oxford Crown Court and ordering him to take an extended driving test before he is allowed on the road again - told Ferenci that he had carried out lunatic and grossly irresponsible manoeuvres at considerable speed .
Sgt Bryan Smith, of Thames Valley Police, said: "It's important to qualify that we are talking about public roads and they are there as a transport network, not a race track or show ground.
"It's incredibly dangerous. A trophy video has been used on the internet and it could incite other road users to behave in the same way."