122mph biker
jailed after bid to evade justice

Andrew John Kelly, 37, took to the forum to find out how he could get off the charge after he was caught breaking the 70mph limit in North Yorkshire.

York Crown Court heard how he persistently lied to the police and provoked outrage on the forum after admitting to other users he had been caught on the A63 dual carriageway near Selby, on June 20 last year.

Police were tipped off about the thread on pepipoo.com in September last year and Kelly was arrested.

Kelly, of Littlemoor View, in Pudsey, was jailed after admitting two counts of perverting the course of justice and one charge of speeding.

He was sentenced to four months each for the two charges of perverting the course of justice, to run consecutively. and was given six penalty points on his licence for the speeding offence.

During the investigation, police uncovered an earlier deception after he bragged to forum users about how he had avoided a parking fine by producing a fake, recovery invoice claiming his vehicle had broken down at the time.

Posting under the name “andyroo,” Kelly, who works as an MOT tester at his family’s garage, stated he was the rider at the time of the speeding offence but didn’t want the points so asked other users how to avoid being caught.

His comments provoked a backlash from other members and his account was terminated by the administrators.

During police interviews he claimed a man called “Richard” was riding his bike at the time of the offence but could not provide any further information about “Richard” as he claimed the diary in which he kept his details had been stolen.

He continued to deny being the rider, claiming he’d made up the online posts, until his seized motorcycle clothing was shown to match the photograph of the speeding biker.

In a message posted on the forum on August 24 last year, Kelly had said: “I’m in a bit of a dilemma.”

He said he had been caught speeding “by a mobile speed camera van at 122mph in a 70mph limit. I didn’t sign for the nip because I wasn’t at work and so they left me a ticket to collect the letter at the post office and I never collected it as I knew what it was.

“Next they sent one to my work three weeks later unrecorded and I never replied. I’m not sure what to do next?”

In an angry backlash, one user wrote: “I’d find it funny if the CPS bring up this thread in court when he’s there trying to escape his 122mph case that he’s being done for.”

Kelly replied: “This forum is a waste of time. Don’t make me laugh. Next you’re all going to tell me you never told a lie?”

Adrian Pollard, defending Kelly, told the court: “These are short-sighted, blinkered acts of stupidity and thoughtlessness.

“Over a period of months, he has become caught up in his own obsessiveness. He is terrified at the prospect of custody.”

After his account was terminated, Kelly opened another under the name “Andyrooisback” in September last year and posted: “Andyroo is back. I must thank those who tipped off the law enforcement officers. I must buy you a pint.”

Traffic Constable, Zoe Billings of North Yorkshire Police, said afterward: “He has no one but himself to blame for the situation he now has to face.”

Stephen Smith, of pepipoo.com, said the case showed how people did not seem to appreciate the seriousness of lying about what they see as “just speeding”.