A BIKER crashed as he pulled a wheelie in a bid to impress a group of teenage girls, a court was told yesterday.

Harrogate magistrates heard how Sam Long had ridden at speed along High Street, Boroughbridge, on a Saturday evening, lifting his front wheel off the road

Mark Haigh, prosecuting, said 22-year-old Long lost control of his machine which careered into a parked car, causing extensive damage.

The crash also put Long, of Haven Cottage, The Marina, Boroughbridge, in Harrogate District Hospital for a week, where he underwent two operations to repair severed tendons in a foot.

Long told police he did not intend his manoeuvre to end as it did - he had meant a small wheelie not a large one - and claimed he had acted out of character.

He said it had been a stupid act committed in a moment of madness because there were teenage girls he wanted to impress.

When Long pleaded guilty to careless driving and had a dangerous driving charge dropped, his solicitor Mohammed Rafiq said a normally model citizen had acted like an idiot - but had been a nuisance rather than a menace.

Fining Long £300, with £70 costs and nine penalty points, court chairman David Gravells told him: "This was an outrageous and crass piece of driving. We will simply not tolerate showing off."