Alleged Hartlepool dangerous off-road biker facing two-year wait for Teesside Crown Court trial

Craig Turnedge, 35, pleaded not guilty to the charge at Teesside Crown Court on Friday, January 17.

It is alleged he drove an off-road motorbike dangerously on roads including King Oswy Drive, Hartlepool, on October 17 last year.

A trial date was fixed but is not due to take place until April 2027.

The judge apologised but said it was because of the amount of unresolved cases and was out of his hands.

Judge Tim Stead told Turnedge, of Pounder Place, Hartlepool: “I’m sorry that your trial is so far away, I can’t do anything about that.

"It’s due to congestion of the lists.”

The crown court backlog in England and Wales almost doubled in five years to over 73,000 cases at the end of last September, hitting a record high.

Scrapping jury trials in some cases is among measures suggested to speed up justice.