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29
Jul
‘Arrogant and appalling’: Police criticise drunk motorcyclist who ploughed into women in Harrogate
A police constable has described the actions of a 20-year-old man who seriously injured two women while doing wheelies on Knaresborough Road in Harrogate as “arrogant and appalling”.
Lawrence Hayward of Spa Lane, was jailed yesterday (July 28) for two years and six months plus another 25 months for an unconnected robbery.
You can read our full court report here.
Hayward, who pleaded guilty to two counts of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, drink driving, and criminal damage, was drunk and uninsured when he ploughed into the women on June 28 2025.
He was riding without a helmet and tried to flee the scene on foot, only to be stopped by members of the public.
After the case, North Yorkshire Police's investigating officer, PC Mike Halstead, said:
Hayward’s arrogant and appalling attitude to road safety has resulted in life-changing injuries being caused to two completely innocent members of the public.
His riding that day was shocking and today's court outcome must be a lesson to others who think it’s fun to put other people in danger.
No sentence can compensate for the harm Hayward has caused, but I hope today’s result provides some closure for the victims in this case.
My thanks go to the members of the public who stopped at the scene, prevented Hayward from escaping and who came to the aid of the injured women.
Witnesses saw Hayward weaving through traffic, driving on pavements and attempting to ride on one wheel before his final attempt at a wheelie spiralled out of control when he mounted the pavement on Knaresborough Road and hit the two pedestrians.
The injured women were taken to hospital with serious injuries including broken limbs and severe facial injuries and are still suffering from the effects of the injuries today, both physically, mentally and financially.
In a separate case, Hayward was also sentenced to two years and one month in prison for a robbery he committed in June 2025 against a taxi driver.
This sentence is to run consecutively meaning he has been jailed for a total of four years and seven months.
The court also banned him from driving for 52 months. After that, he must take an extended driving test before he can obtain a licence again.
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