Taking victory several steps too far

Tuesday 01 October 2019

The winner of the British Beach Racing Championships took his victory several steps too far at the weekend, by taking his motorcycle into Vistas Cafe, revving it, and doing a 'burnout'.

Despite being cheered on by some of the tournament's other competitors, the Cafe at Vazon was also being used by many other customers, who had no idea what was going on.

Paul Cooper, 39, an English resident, won the races over the weekend, but has now been fined £1,500 and ordered to pay £250 compensation to the cafe. 

He pleaded guilty to one count of criminal damage when he appeared before the Magistrate's Court on Monday. 

When Cooper performed the burnout, he melted the vinyl floor tiling inside the busy cafe. When Guernsey Police contacted Vista's owner, they were told the tiles would have to be replaced, and although he did have some spares, he would have to pay for labour. 

The Prosecution told the Court how many people inside Vistas were shocked when they saw Cooper wheeling his bike into the building, and even more shocked when he started revving the engine loudly. The burnout then caused huge amounts of smoke, filling the building to the point where staff had to turn on all of the extractor units.

The beach racer did hand himself into police after he realised what he had done.

Pictured: Cooper appeared in Guernsey's Magistrate's Court after his offence. 

Advocate Phoebe Cobb, representing Cooper, asked for the matter to be dealt with yesterday because the defendant was supposed to be catching the boat home in the evening. She said Cooper acted in this way on the spur of the moment, but didn't realise the damage he would cause. He had told police he had acted foolishly. 

Cooper also expressed deep regrets for his actions, and apologised to the Court and Vistas. 

"I'm told this was a thoughtless and foolish act, and if you were a teenager that might be more understandable," Judge Graeme McKerrell said.

"I am told that you didn't intend to cause the damage, but you must have known what a bike can do.

"Irrespective of the damage, what is more concerning is the fact that this was in the middle of a family business, if there were young children present they would have been extremely frightened."

In total, Cooper was ordered to pay a £1,500 fine and £250 compensation. He was kept in custody until those were paid. 

Pictured top: Vistas Beach Cafe (image from TripAdvisor).