104mph biker sped past horse (From York Press)

Biker Garry Wilkinson sped past horse at 104mph

11:06am Friday 28th September 2012 in News By Mark Stead, mark.stead@thepress.co.uk

A BIKER from York has been banned from the roads after doing more than 100mph and speeding past a horse and its rider that were only yards away.

Garry James Wilkinson, 41, was caught in a North Yorkshire Police speed trap in Escrick Road, at Stillingfleet, as he broke the speed limit by more than one-and-a-half times on his Yamaha bike – a crime the force called “shocking”.

Wilkinson, of Huntington , was clocked at 104mph on the 60mph route and sped past a horse being ridden in the opposite direction, despite motorists being warned to slow down when the animals are nearby to avoid startling them.

Wilkinson, a builder from Cleveland Way, admitted the speeding offence – which happened at about 6.25pm on June 27 – when he appeared before Selby Magistrates’ Court yesterday, and said he was “truly sorry”.

Sandra White, prosecuting, told the court police were operating a speed detection device in Escrick Road when Wilkinson headed along the route on a Yamaha YZFR1.

Pictures of the offence were shown to magistrates during the hearing.

She said: “It is extremely fortunate for road users that the horse did not react to the defendant’s motorbike, as no doubt there was a lot of noise from its motor.

“The pictures also show him travelling along a windy road at a speed of 104mph, and that could have had very serious consequences had he not been able to negotiate round bends.”

Speaking on his own behalf, Wilkinson told magistrates he had looked to slow down when he saw the horse and rider, and said he had not been travelling as fast when he went round bends in the road.

“I don’t know what to say, really – I know I have done wrong,” he said.

Wilkinson told the court his business would be affected if he lost his driving licence. He was disqualified from driving for 70 days, fined £360 and told to pay £45 in court costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Senior magistrate Christine Dennis told him: “This was a horrendous speed, on a bendy road with a horse nearby, and frankly you ought to have known better at your age.”

PC Zoe Billings, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “The disregard shown by Wilkinson for the safety of the horse and rider is shocking.”

Another speeding biker, Stephen John Pollard, 43, of Cobcar Street, Elsecar, Barnsley, also admitted travelling at 112mph on his Suzuki GSXR on the same road, having been clocked by the speed detection patrol minutes before Wilkinson was caught.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 weeks, fined £300 and ordered to pay the same amount of costs and a victim surcharge as Wilkinson.

He told magistrates he had just broken up with his girlfriend and “lost my head”.