Conviction: motorist drove with passengers riding in a chair strapped to his roof

A driver who strapped a folding chair to the roof of his van and drove people around on top of the vehicle has been sentenced to 26 weeks, suspended for two years, and disqualified from driving for 18 months.   

Jordan Ford, 22, of Everard Road in Spalding, received the sentence following a charge of dangerous driving for an incident which took place at Stamford Cattle Market car park on 24 October 2021.

Officers were alerted to the incident by CCTV operators at South Kesteven District Council, who witnessed the folding picnic chair being strapped to the roof of the Vauxhall Astra van with bungee cords. A male was then seen to climb onto the car and sit in the chair while the driver drove around the car park in front of onlookers.

Following a few laps of the car park, the person on the roof got off and three more people climbed on and sat down in a row, one behind the other, before being driven around the car park. The driver was seen to be accelerating and braking harshly during the several laps.

After they climbed down, a number of passengers got into the rear of the car and he drove out of the car park. None of the passengers were wearing seatbelts. The driver was arrested a short while later after returning to the car park where officers were waiting.

PC Julian Laybourn from Stamford Response team said: “I have been in the police for more than 27 years and spent 14 years of that on traffic, and I can say that this was the most unbelievable driving incident I have ever witnessed, and the most dangerous.  

“The speeds that he was driving at with the three people on the roof were ridiculous and with the way he was braking I was amazed that no one came off and went underneath the wheels of the car.  This should be a lesson to anyone who thinks that it is ok to do this sort of thing.”

Ford, who was given the sentence at a hearing at Lincoln Magistrates Court, on the 10 February 2022, will have to take an extended re-test to be able to get his licence back, and was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £128 victim surcharge.