Watch: "Reckless" and "dangerous" driver banned after illegal meet where cars performed doughnuts narrowly avoiding onlookers
A dangerous driver has been banned from the roads and his car taken away after putting lives at risk at an illegal car meet with police saying he should be “embarrassed and ashamed” of his actions.
Toby Clarkson, 23, has been disqualified from driving for three years following an illegal car meet on September 21, 2024 where cars drifted, narrowly avoiding onlookers. The meet started in Winchester before heading to Southsea via Southampton, Eastleigh, Chandlers Ford and Fareham.
CCTV footage caught Clarkson drifting around a roundabout on Harbour Parade, Southampton with crowds of people either side who could have been injured or killed. People were seen blocking the roads to watch the cars and even ended up slowing down an ambulance on a job.
Superintendent Mark Lewis, head of the Roads Policing Unit, said: "This type of behaviour is astonishing. There were crowds of people mere metres away from Clarkson's car and one slip of the steering wheel could have put dozens in hospital.
"To risk maiming or killing people for the sake of something so immature, the driver should be embarrassed and ashamed of his actions.
"Footage obtained by officers shows how his incredibly selfish actions blocked the roads for countless motorists, including an ambulance on a blue light run, potentially putting further lives as risk.
"We absolutely will not tolerate these groups of anti-social and dangerous drivers making our roads unsafe and causing misery for local residents.
"This case should act as a warning that just because you drive home in your car from one of these meets, it doesn't mean you have gotten away with it.
"Clarkson now has a criminal record, he has been banned from driving and has had his car taken away from him. This is exactly what anyone driving like this in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight should expect to happen to them - we could be the next person knocking on your door!"
The video of Clarkson’s dangerous driving can be found embedded in this article
Clarkson, of London Road in Mickleham, Surrey,was sentenced on Tuesday, April 29 at Southampton Crown Court after pleading guilty to dangerous driving, using a car on a road in such a condition it was likely to cause danger, and four counts of failing to give information relating to the identification of a driver.
As well as being banned from driving for three years his car was also confiscated by the leasing company it belonged to.
In total, Clarkson received:
- 24 weeks in prison, suspended for a year
- 180 hours of unpaid work
- Ordered to attend a 26 day program led by the probation service for car crime
- Disqualification for three years, with an extended retest to get his licence back
- £154 surcharge and £85 costs