Politician rides to aid of scooter fan facing trial

Mr Opik travelled to Barnsley to support factory worker Phillip Coates, who has become the first person in Britain to be prosecuted for using one of the two-wheelers on a pavement.

Police charged Mr Coates, 51, with driving a motor vehicle on a pavement under the Highways Act 1835 after flagging him down as he rode from his Cudworth home to town for some shopping.

Yesterday Mr Opik, a long-standing fan of the Segway, said he was trying to show the vehicles were no different to mobility scooters used by the elderly and disabled across the country.

The former MP for Montgomeryshire, rode up to Barnsley Magistrates' Court, to stand beside Mr Coates, who has engaged solicitors to challenge the prosecution.

Mr Coates entered a plea of not guilty during the short hearing and Mr Opik said he had pointedly ridden his Segway on both the pavement and the road to put himself in Mr Coates' position.

He said as he rode around Barnsley on the scooter he had expected to take the "legal heat" which had been dished out to his fellow Segway fan, but nothing had been done.

Mr Opik also admitted that he was slightly jealous of Mr Coates's attention. The distinctive scooters are popular in America and Mr Coates said bought one for 5,000 after becoming hooked on them while on holiday in Florida.

He said he used it for getting to work, making trips into Barnsley and other villages and added he had even let his 86-year-old mother have a go without any incident.

The electric-powered Segways are a low-energy form of transport and produce no emissions. Campaigners have been trying to have the law amended so they can be used on pavements and footpaths.

Mr Opik, who lost his seat in the last General Election said he thought the whole situation was "absolutely ridiculous" and added: "I have travelled up from London for this because I feel that strongly about it as a test case and will be supporting Phillip all the way. I have openly been riding my Segway on the pavement and the roads, having alerted media to that fact, and nothing was done.

"I put myself in the line of legal fire, I'm almost jealous of Phillip, though it seems an odd thing to be jealous about. This was just a normal man using the cheapest form of transport he had to get around." A Segway campaigner for two-and-a-half years, Mr Opik said the scooters have a top speed of 12mph and a button that limits them to 5mph on pavements.

He added: "They are a mode of transport for those who might not be able to get out, they are cheap to run and they are clean. They are no different from mobility scooters and should not be classed as a motor vehicle."

Before scooting off Mr Opik shouted "free the Segway one".

Speaking after the hearing, which was adjourned for legal argument, Mr Coates said: "The whole thing is ridiculous, they are allowed in nearly every other European country but here. Now my Segway is just gathering dust."

Mr Coates said he had been stopped by the police before, but officers had told him they were just making inquiries and had never warned him that he could face prosecution.

The Government classes the scooters as motor vehicles and says they can only be used on private land. They are legal in 44 states in the United States and most of Europe.

Solicitor Victoria Molloy, who is representing Mr Coates, said last week she would be challenging the machine's designation as a motor vehicle. She added: "Until now no one has ever been charged with an offence in order for this to be challenged by law."

A CPS spokesman said before the hearing: "A Segway is classed as a motor vehicle by the Department of Transport which means it cannot legally be driven on a footpath.

"South Yorkshire Police have charged a man with driving a motor vehicle on the pavement and the file has been passed to us to prosecute in court."

Colourful commons character

Lembit Opik, elected an MP in 1997, was one of the more colourful members of the House of Commons until he lost his seat to the Conservatives in May.

The 45-year-old became more famous for his romances, with Cheeky Girl Gabriela Irimia, and before her the ITV weather presenter Sian Lloyd, than his work in Parliament.

He was also a regular guest on shows such as Have I Got News For You and has campaigned for the use of Segway scooters like Mr Coates' in Britain for several years.

The former Procter and Gamble executive was born in Bangor, Co Down, Northern Ireland, in 1965, the son of Estonian parents whose families had fled Soviet rule.