Motorbiking dad like 'clown' as he rode around city

A DAD rode his motorbike like a “clown” around Swansea for an hour and a half, weaving through traffic, undertaking cars, doing U-turns in the road, mounting the pavement and going the wrong way around roundabouts, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS Court and crime reporter

Ben Norman then raced along the hard shoulder of the M4 before riding down the middle of two lanes of motorway traffic.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the episode of dangerous driving was monitored by a police helicopter - including the moment when the 32-year-old rider dashed into a supermarket to change his clothes.

A judge asked rhetorically what a visitor to Swansea who had seen the defendant riding his bike on the day in question would make of the city, saying the visitor might well conclude “we live in the Wild West”.

The court heard that on July 26 last year a helicopter from the National Police Air Service was over Swansea as part of an operation targeting the off-road and illegal use of motorbikes in the city.

At just before 5.45pm a bike without plates and with a pillion on board was picked up in the Cwmbwrla and Fforestfach areas riding at speed, undertaking cars, doing U-turns and mounting pavements.

While being watched from the sky, the bike made its way to the city centre, where it was observed weaving through traffic around the Tawe Bridges and joining Fabian Way out of town.