Scooter wars

A man has been convicted of ranting at people in the street in foul-mouthed “road rage” outbursts - from his mobility scooter.

Frederick Wilkinson, 53, of Llandudno, was accused of upsetting pensioners, including another disability scooter rider.

Bank customer David Houlston had been in the HSBC branch in the town’s main street last September when he heard a commotion outside.

He told magistrates at Llandudno: “Some person was swearing like a trooper: ‘You f***ing daft t**t, get out of the f***ing way.’

“It was a male voice. There was a lady by the side of me. She got quite agitated. She was in her 70s. She appeared frightened.”

He said the street was quite busy and a decorator working outside appeared shocked.

Mr Houlston said: “He said: ‘Some bloke has just had a go at me.’

“I saw the mobility scooter disappearing down the road. It was Freddy.”

Frederick Wilkinson, 53, of Llandudno, was fined for ranting at people in the street in foul-mouthed “road rage” outbursts from his mobility scooter

Frederick Wilkinson (Image: Bellis Media)

Mr Houlston said he had heard Wilkinson shouting at people before.

“It’s disgusting, isn’t it?” he told the court.

“I was annoyed he gets away with it every single time.”

Betty McAuliffe, 76, said that, in the same month, she had been shopping at the town’s Asda supermarket and went down a nearby path on her scooter when she saw “Freddy”, a former neighbour.

The pensioner said: “He was coming up the path with a trailer on the back of his scooter.

“I said to him, ‘you can’t come up the path with a trailer’, because I couldn’t get past.

“He wasn’t very pleased. He wouldn’t let me pass him. I had to go around.

“He called after me. He said I was nothing but a f***ing bitch. He told me to f**k off.”

She said she felt “quite sick” and down afterwards.

Wilkinson told his solicitor Graham Parry he found walking distances a problem, although he did some gardening.

He claimed someone with a similar voice had shouted at him outside the bank.

“I get it every day,” he said.

During the second incident, he said he had left plenty of space for the other scooter to pass but the pensioner had expected him to reverse, which was “totally unreasonable”.

He denied being abusive and said the OAP swore at him.

Nia Lloyd, prosecuting, said Wilkinson was suggesting two witnesses were trying to get him into trouble.

He replied: “I get it all the time from drivers. I have been put on Facebook.”

Wilkinson’s lawyer questioned whether the magistrates could be sure the defendant uttered the words outside the bank, and said Mr Houlston didn’t see it happen.

Mr Parry said the second offence involved a “bit of a stand-off in terms of passing”.

But Wilkinson was found guilty following a trial for disorderly behaviour on September 11 and 29. He was fined a total of £120 and ordered to pay £230 costs.

A two-year restraining order bans contact with Ms McAuliffe.

Court chairwoman Angeline Lawson said the prosecution witnesses were “credible”.

She said Mr Houlston correctly identified Wilkinson’s distinctive voice.

Last year, Wilkinson, of St Andrew’s Avenue, had been cautioned for a public order offence, the prosecution said.