A BRITISH MOTORIST was banned after cops caught him walking his dog - from his car. Lazy Paul Railton, 23, was exercising his lurcher by driving at 5mph and holding the lead through the open driver’s window.
A stunned cyclist spotted the dog trotting alongside the car in the middle of the road as it approached a blind summit. He alerted police who raced to the scene to find Railton still crawling along with the dog running beside his Nissan Navara.
Railton admitted not being in proper control of a vehicle when he appeared before Consett JPs, in Co Durham. He was fined £66 ($132) and given three points on his licence. He already had nine meaning he was banned for six months under the totting up rules.
Prosecutor Sharon Lowrie told the court: "A cyclist alerted police that two men were dragging a dog along from a car. "The driver was hanging on to the dog's lead through the driver window approaching a blind summit." Paul Donoghue, mitigating, said: "He accepts it was a silly thing to do. It was probably borne out of laziness. He does not usually drive in such a a manner."
Railton, of Annfield Plain, Co Durham, said: "A lot of people exercise their dogs in that manner." After the hearing he added: "It's a joke. I’m not bothered. I knew I'd get three points. I might save myself some money not having a car."
In July last year Railton was one of five people who stood trial for the attempted murder of a man who was blasted in the back in a shotgun attack near his home in Consett. The case was thrown out after the court heard detectives made an illegal search of a house.
A stunned cyclist spotted the dog trotting alongside the car in the middle of the road as it approached a blind summit. He alerted police who raced to the scene to find Railton still crawling along with the dog running beside his Nissan Navara.
Railton admitted not being in proper control of a vehicle when he appeared before Consett JPs, in Co Durham. He was fined £66 ($132) and given three points on his licence. He already had nine meaning he was banned for six months under the totting up rules.
Prosecutor Sharon Lowrie told the court: "A cyclist alerted police that two men were dragging a dog along from a car. "The driver was hanging on to the dog's lead through the driver window approaching a blind summit." Paul Donoghue, mitigating, said: "He accepts it was a silly thing to do. It was probably borne out of laziness. He does not usually drive in such a a manner."
Railton, of Annfield Plain, Co Durham, said: "A lot of people exercise their dogs in that manner." After the hearing he added: "It's a joke. I’m not bothered. I knew I'd get three points. I might save myself some money not having a car."
In July last year Railton was one of five people who stood trial for the attempted murder of a man who was blasted in the back in a shotgun attack near his home in Consett. The case was thrown out after the court heard detectives made an illegal search of a house.
