23/04/2010
“I’ve never seen anything like it in all my 15 years on the bench,” said presiding magistrate Neil Munson, as reported in the Daily Telegraph this week. “This is most unusual.”
The case in question involved former RAF aeronautical engineer Paul Hutton, 40 who was banned for three years after driving a modified electric child-size Barbie car on the open road with twice the legally permitted level of alcohol in his blood.
“I’m not unhappy with my punishment, just a little bit surprised,” Hutton told the Telegraph. “You have to be a contortionist to get in,” he said of his ride, “and then you can’t get out. Originally it was a pink Barbie car designed for three to five year olds, but I put bigger wheels on it.”
On the basis that – pimp-tuning notwithstanding – the Barbie mobile still moves slower than a mobility scooter, the bench found itself inclined toward a lenient view. Mr Hutton is now hoping to get his impounded vehicle back from Colchester police.
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