PEOPLE do stupid things when they are young but, as a 44-year-old grown man, John McMeekin really should have known better.
After drinking a can of beer, he climbed on to a car bonnet in only his shorts, and clung to the windscreen wipers as the vehicle was driven through Bishop Auckland at a top speed of 52 miles per hour.
It was all part of the so-called NekNomination drinking craze in which people dared others to perform stunts.
A video of Mr McMeekin's stunt is on The Northern Echo's website and it shows how idiotic he was. Indeed, he is very lucky that what he and his friends considered to be a funny prank didn't have tragic consequences.
Speaking up for Mr McMeekin in Newton Aycliffe Magistrates' Court today, defence solicitor Robin Ford said his client understood how stupid he had been. Let's hope so.
He was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £100.
It amounts to a slap on the wrist.
A heavier penalty will be the humiliation of his moment of madness in his shorts being laid bare for all to see.
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