KEKURA

MAN CHARGED WITH 'DRINK-DRIVING' MOBILITY SCOOTER IS LET OFF.






A man accused of drink-driving after being caught more than four times the alcohol limit while riding his mobility scooter has been let off because his vehicle was too small to be classed as a road vehicle.

James Spangenberg-Ferrelli, 65, gave a breath-test reading of 147mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath when he was pulled over by police officers in his home town of Tiverton, Devon, court documents show.

The legal limit is 35mg and he was charged with driving while unfit through drink and driving a motor vehicle while above the alcohol limit.

But the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence on Thursday against Spangenberg-Ferrelli, who was due to appear at Exeter magistrates' court for the third hearing in connection with the case.

His solicitor, Rob Jacobs, told Exeter magistrates: "The issue is that his mobility scooter was in a public place but it was a footpath. The issue is also whether or not he was driving a mechanically-propelled vehicle."

He said certain mobility scooters are exempt as mechanically propelled vehicles and claimed that the defendant does not need a licence to use the scooter. Jacobs said: "It is a little bit odd to punish someone and disqualify them from using a vehicle that does not require a driving licence."

Spangenberg-Ferrelli told the magistrates at an earlier hearing: "I never drive it on the road. It's too dangerous. I've been driving mobility scooters for seven years."