'Barbie' car sees dad cop three-year driving ban
Toddler toy car at the heart of drink-driving case
Dad-of-four Paul Hutton, 40, has been banned from driving for three years after he was pulled over for drink-driving in a ‘Barbie’ car, reports the Metro.
The pink battery-powered car is a toy designed for children aged 3 to 5 years, has a top speed of 4mph and is just 120cm by 60cm. Paul, an electrical engineering student, found the toy car near his home in Essex, and he and his 17-year-old son put bigger wheels on it as part of a college project.
Dad Paul decided to drive the dinky toy to his mate’s house, and amazingly managed to squeeze his 1.8m tall frame into the vehicle. However, he was pulled over by police and breathalysed on the way.
Paul admitted the offence at Colchester magistrates’ court and was given a three-year driving ban because he’d served a previous drink-driving ban in the past decade. He says he was a “twit” and says he’s not unhappy with his punishment, though a bit surprised. And so too was the magistrate, who commented he’d never seen a case like it in his 15 years on the bench.
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