Balloon attack 'like wild west'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/6359581.stm

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A judge has told a teenager who admitted lobbing a water balloon at an oncoming motorcyclist he is lucky he did not have a death on his hands.

Stuart Duckett, 19, of Cidercourt Drive, Crumlin, was ordered to pay £500 compensation to the biker.

Antrim Magistrates Court heard Duckett sat on the window ledge of a moving car. The driver was also fined £500 for not preventing his dangerous behaviour.

The resident magistrate said it was "like something out of the wild west".

RM Robert Alcorn told them he would like to see how the pair would handle a period in Maghaberry Prison, and they were led away to the court cells.

An hour later he called them back, and asked them how they had found their new "accommodation".

Duckett said it was "scary" while his co-accused, Mark Tweedie of Greenvale Park in Antrim, said it was "not nice".

Damage

Mr Alcorn told them they were lucky they were not facing an attempted manslaughter charge.

The court heard that the motorcyclist was out for a drive on 11 June last year when he saw the car approaching with a man sitting on the window sill.

His motorbike was struck, damaging the windscreen, stereo speaker cover, silver trim, camera hood and bodywork paint.

The motorcyclist chased the car, and used a vehicle-mounted camera to take a picture of its registration plate which he passed on to police.

A solicitor for the men said they both appreciated their behaviour could have been quite dangerous but they were surprised at the extent of the damage caused by the water balloon.

He said the men were "messing around" and it was lucky the motorcyclist was not injured.

Duckett also received a suspended two-month sentence at a young offenders centre.