A LEARNER who forced drivers on the A419 to take evasive action when he did wheelies on his moped has been fined £500.

Adam Hawkins, 23, was spotted by a police officer who was on her way to work on July 10, Swindon magistrates were told today.

Vyvyan Thatcher, prosecuting said Hawkins was in front of another moped rider when the officer saw him.

In a statement she described him trailing his leg and swinging round on the seat of his Gilera Runner 125.

Then, when they were on the A419, she saw him do a wheelie for around 50 metres, forcing other drivers to brake and swerve to avoid colliding with him.

He then repeated the stunt.

“Again other road users had to swerve or change lanes to avoid the defendant,” said Mr Thatcher.

Hawkins, of Limes Avenue, had previously denied driving without due care and attention and was due to face trial. But he changed his plea to guilty today.

A charge of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver was dropped.

Kevin Marland, defending, said Hawkins, who had a clean licence, had not been represented on his first appearance.

He could not remember the incident and because numerous people used the machine he could not remember whether he had been riding it on the day.

But he now accepted it was him on the moped.

“He accepts he was larking about and showing off to his friend. He accepts that he put other drivers in a position where they had to manoeuvre out of his way,” he said.

No collision happened as a result of the way Hawkins was behaving.

Mr Marland told the court a lot had changed in Hawkins’s life since July. He had been promoted to shift manager at work, his girlfriend was pregnant and they were saving up for the deposit on a house.

“It is fair to say he has grown up an awful lot in that time,” he said.

“He is now a man who has got responsibilities, is fully aware of those responsibilities and wants to put this behind him.”

Hawkins told the bench he had a provisional licence, but had taken his theory test with a view to gaining a full licence.

The magistrates imposed seven points on his licence, fined him £500 and ordered him to pay £85 prosecution costs along with a £50 victim surcharge.