Drink drivers and a teenager who crashed into a police officer are among the offenders who appeared before the courts last week.

Here is a round-up of some of the cases heard by magistrates in north Essex.

  • A TEENAGER who lost control of a motorcycle while attempting to evade the police collided with an officer.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, was riding a dirt bike with no number plates on a small gravel road in Colchester while trying to dodge the police, Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court heard.

During the incident, on April 30, he drove at speed and lost control of the vehicle, colliding with a police constable.

The teenager, from Colchester, appeared in court on October 8 and admitted driving without due care and attention, without a valid licence and without plates.

He was referred to a youth offender panel for 12 months.

  • A REPEAT offender has been jailed after he got behind the wheel while more than three times the legal alcohol limit – just months after he was banned from the roads for drink driving.

Keith Wells, 63, was locked up for eight weeks after he drove a Vauxhall Astra in Walton while over the legal alcohol limit.

After he was stopped by police on October 4, a breathalyser test recorded 128mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.

The legal limit is 35mcg.

Wells, of Luff Way, Walton, appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on October 8 and admitted drink driving and driving while disqualified.

On July 23, at the same court, he was banned from driving for 23 months after getting behind the wheel of the same Astra while more than double the legal limit.

After his latest offence, Wells was banned from driving for a further 60 months and ordered to pay a £128 victim surcharge.

  • A WOMAN has been ordered to carry out unpaid work after she admitted drink driving and being drunk in charge of a child.

Hannah Rammell, 28, admitted the offences after she got behind the wheel of a Peugeot in Stratford Road, Clacton, while more than double the legal alcohol limit.

She had 98mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg.

On the same day, April 12, she was also found to be drunk in charge of a child.

Appearing in court on September 10, Rammell, of Broadway, Silver End, also admitted driving without insurance and taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent.

At Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on October 11, she was ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £490 in court costs and compensation.

She was banned from driving for 28 months.

  • A WOMAN carried out a course of harassment over Facebook.

Lacey Baldwin, 24, sent messages to the victim over social media between July and August last year.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard some of the messages were racial in nature.

Baldwin, of Gatefield Close, Walton, admitted harassment and two counts of using threatening and abusive words or behaviour.

She was ordered to complete a 25-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay £425 in court costs.

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