Road ban for YouTube man

An 18-year-old man was today banned from driving after video footage of him "showing off" at high speeds and taking his hands off the steering wheel while driving on Shropshire's busiest roads was posted on YouTube.

Michael James Hughes, of Falcons Court, Much Wenlock, handed himself in to police after the Shropshire Star published images of him driving between Shrewsbury and Telford in January.

Please be aware that the video contains strong language

The YouTube video showed Hughes driving from the Column area of Shrewsbury to Tesco in Telford in just 10 minutes.

Shrewsbury magistrates today heard Hughes was seen to take his hands off the wheel to change a CD in London Road and his speedometer showed speeds of more than 100 mph on the A5 at Emstrey and the M54 at Junction Six.

Hughes, who works for car dealership Inchcape in Shrewsbury, was banned for 28 days and ordered to pay £225 after he admitted careless driving between September 1 and September 30.

Phil Mason, prosecuting, said it was an "unusual" case. He said: "Mr Hughes was caught because of the modern age. His friend had made a video of his driving and it had been downloaded onto YouTube where it was for public consideration.

"On London Road, Mr Hughes is seen to remove his hands from the steering wheel to select CDs. One might call it showing off."

Mr Mason said it could not be known how accurate the vehicle's speedometer was but police tests found the maximum speed of the car was 96mph and the driving was definitely in excess of the speed limit.

Stephen Scully, for Hughes, said: "It is an offence of the modern age - now you have trial by YouTube and the Press. He accepts what he did on this occasion was wrong. I would describe it as youthful immaturity."

Mr Scully said Hughes could face losing his job as a result of the ban. He said: "He has suffered great embarrassment as a result of this."

By Rebecca Lawrence