"Dangerous" Basingstoke car meet sees Jack Coyne, 29 get year-long driving ban and 3-month curfew

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary received reports that cars had gathered at an unauthorised car meet on Stroudley Road, Basingstoke on Friday 11 August last year. Officers launched an investigation and gathered CCTV images to help build a picture of what happened.

A force spokesperson said: “After working with businesses and Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, officers were able to gather evidence and charge a man with driving a motor vehicle dangerously. Jack Coyne, 29, of Church Road, Ewell, Surrey, pleaded guilty to the charge at Basingstoke Magistrates Court on Tuesday 20 February.

“During his sentencing hearing today (4 April), the court was shown CCTV footage of Coyne drifting a blue BMW around a roundabout in front of a crowd of people. He was handed a community order, which included a three-month curfew and a 12-month driving ban. He will need to take an extended re-test.”

Basingstoke police sergeant Pete Scamell said: “We want to stress that anti-social behaviour and anti-social use of vehicles will not be tolerated in Basingstoke.

“We are not against people gathering to show their vehicles and socialising because of their interest in cars. However, we will not tolerate dangerous or illegal activities on our roads. We want to keep our community safe and the slightest mistake at a car meet can cause serious injuries or even result in someone losing their life.

“I want to urge people to think carefully about how they behave on the roads and we know the significant impact these kind of incidents can have on our community.

“We would like to reassure local residents that we take any report of anti-social use of vehicles extremely seriously and our officers will do everything they can to ensure that those responsible will be put before the courts.”

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council’s cabinet member for Communities, Partnerships and Inclusion councillor John McKay said: “We know that anti-social vehicle use is a big issue for people in the borough and we have been working hard with our partners including the police, businesses and landowners to help tackle this.

“It is really positive to see that this partnership work and the use of CCTV footage has been key in gathering evidence to support this prosecution. I hope that it will deter others from this dangerous behaviour and encourage residents to continue to report it to the police.”