Lord Brocket fined for not stopping at crossing

A celebrity peer has been convicted of failing to give way to a pedestrian while riding a moped through a zebra crossing in west London.

Lord Charles Brocket was charged with riding his Piaggo over the crossing in King's Road, Chelsea, while a pedestrian crossed on 19 August.

The 73-year-old, who appeared in the 2004 series of I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, argued that he did not see the pedestrian because a car obscured his view.

He was found guilty after a trial at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court and fined £346. He was also ordered to pay about £800 in costs and given three points on his licence.

During the trial, video footage taken by a cyclist appeared to show Brocket riding his Piaggo over the crossing after a pedestrian had already started to cross.

Prosecutor Andrew Moss told the court the crown's case was "straightforward".

"If the pedestrian is on the crossing it's not a defence," Mr Moss said.

Brocket, who represented himself in court, told the trial: "In this instance, the car in front of me slightly obscured anything to the left.

"When I realised that the pedestrian had actually put her foot on the zebra crossing, the only possibility for me would have been an emergency stop."

"I couldn't possibly have stopped in that time," he added.

Magistrate Wendy Preston dismissed Brocket's defence.

"Under those circumstances case law is clear that if you cannot see that there is a person on the crossing, you must drive in such a way that you can stop if there is a person on it," she said.

"We therefore find you guilty of this offence."

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