A MOTORCYLIST who reached a speed of 130mph as he raced away from the police on the A6 south of Carlisle later told the arresting police officers: “I’ve been an idiot.”

Ryan Moffat, 28, who also admitted he was on his way to buy cannabis when the police began to following him, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving. The details of his offending were outlined during his sentencing hearing at Carlisle Crown Court.

He had ridden his Honda 650cc motorbike to Carlisle on July 6 in order to buy cannabis, which he freely admitted, the court heard.

It was as he was riding along London Road and out of Carlisle that the police noticed him because of the speed at which he was travelling. Maintaining a “discreet distance,” they began tailing him in order to get his number plate details.

But when he noticed the police behind him, he began to accelerate away at speeds which Judge Barker described as “highly dangerous.”

At one point, the court heard, he overtook a vehicle which was itself overtaking another car. On London Road, he was seen driving at 100mph in an area where the speed limit is 50mph, while on the A6, at its height, his speed reached 130mph.

As he rode through Low Hesket, he was travelling at 70mph.

“I consider this to be a very serious example of dangerous driving, with a deliberate decision not to drive by the rules of the road,” said Judge Barker.

Marion Weir, defending, accepted that it was more luck than judgement that nobody was seriously hurt and that Moffat’s reference to him being an idiot on that day summed up his behaviour.

“But it’s clear from the references and the pre-sentence report that there is genuine remorse,” said the barrister.

She said probation officer who interviewed Moffat, (pictured below), from Brockley Moor, Plumpton, believed he had learned his lesson and there had been no further offending.News and Star: Ryan Moffatt

Miss Weir said what happened was “out of character” for a man who clearly struggled with his consequential thinking.

Noting the defendant’s remorse and other personal issues, the judge accepted that there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

He imposed a nine-month jail term which will be suspended for 18 months. The sentence includes 15 rehabilitation activity days and 180 hours of unpaid work.

Moffat was given an 18 month ban and will not be allowed to drive or ride independently until he has passed an extended driving test.