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06
Dec
Man appears before court after Victoria Avenue car fire
A man has appeared in court after a car fire on Victoria Avenue in Harrogate.
Nicholas Earl, 41, of Gladhow Park Avenue in Leeds, appeared before Harrogate Magistrates Court yesterday (December 5).
Mr Earl was charged with drink driving after his car was found burned out on Victoria Avenue at around 5am on November 18.
However, at a hearing yesterday, the 41-year-old’s defence asked the court to adjourn the case for a special reasons hearing on the grounds of a genuine emergency.
Martin Townend, defending, told magistrates that Mr Earl had gone to his car after work to pick up his night bag and arranged for a friend to pick him up in a taxi.
Mr Townend said while the defendant was waiting, it was minus six degrees outside and he decided to get into his car to put the heating on.
The court heard that Mr Earl began to smell burning and decided to move the car a short distance to a central reservation on Victoria Avenue. He then got out of the vehicle and called the fire service.
He said:
He smelled burning and decided to move it [the car] to the central reservation. No one had seen him driving and he moved it to avoid damage to other cars.
Police were sympathetic to what he said.
North Yorkshire Police arrested Mr Earl and later charged him with drink driving after he was taken to custody.
Mr Townend said the defendant acted in accordance with a genuine emergency.
Magistrates adjourned the case to be put before a special hearing on April 10, 2025.
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