'Car Surfing' Pair Given Driving Bans

20 January 2011, 10:02 | Updated: 20 January 2011, 10:04

A man and a 17-year-old boy have both been given year-long driving bans - after being caught car surfing in West Sussex.

The pair were filmed by police last October speeding around a car park in Midhurst with someone else clinging onto the roof.

CCTV footage released by police shows the pair driving at speed in circles while someone else lies on the roof of their cars, clinging on by their fingertips.

The incident was captured on film in darkness in a car park in North Street, Midhurst, West Sussex, on September 5th last year.

The 17-year-old boy, from Haslemere, Surrey, who was filmed in the second of two CCTV sequences released by Sussex Police, had only passed his driving test two months earlier.

The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving on January 7 at Chichester Magistrates' Court, police said.

He was sentenced on the same day to a year-long ban from driving and ordered to take an extended re-test. He was also given a 12-week curfew order.

Kieron Burgess, 21, from Common View, Stedham, also admitted dangerous driving on December 6 at the same court.

He was disqualified from driving for 12 months, ordered to take a re-test and handed a 120-hour community order.

Today Inspector Phil Nicholas, of Sussex Police, said: "Thankfully, no-one was injured during this stupid behaviour, but it could have ended very differently.

"A few minutes of dangerous behaviour has ended with driving bans for these two males. The boy had only passed his driving test two months earlier.

"I would urge anyone who may be pressured by friends to take part in car surfing to think about the consequences.

"You could end up in jail or with serious injuries, or worse."