A roller-skating pensioner has been fined £300 after he was filmed skating along a street in Southport.

Geoff Dornan, 71, of Ormskirk, Lancashire, was caught on CCTV skating through Chapel Street in October 2008.

He said it was to keep fit but Sefton Council said his skating was a nuisance and a danger to the public.

He was found guilty at North Sefton Magistrates' Court of two counts of breaching a by-law but has since lodged an appeal.

He was also ordered to pay £1,800 costs, but the fines were suspended after Andrew Scott, defending, said an appeal notice had been handed to the prosecution.

The appeal case will be heard at a crown court at a later date.

In his defence, Mr Dornan, a retired youth worker, told the court he took up skating seven years ago as a way of keeping fit.

He said he enjoyed skating down the town's main street as he enjoyed moving to the music from buskers, but he insisted that he always gave right of way to pedestrians.

He also told the court he tried to give people as much space as possible and used his skates responsibly.

He said: "The reason I do the skating is primarily for my health benefit.

"I think people suspect that I am more dangerous than I am."

But the council said he was contravening a by-law which forbids skating on Chapel Street.

The by-law states that "no person shall skate, slide or ride on rollers, skateboards or other self-propelled vehicles in such a manner as to cause danger or annoyance".

Chairman of the bench, Fraser Wallace, said: "We find the manner of your skating put pedestrians at risk and exposed them to harm."

He said it was clear Chapel Street was not meant to be used as a "skate park" and said Dornan's behaviour "causes a danger" to the public.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/engl … 908446.stm (Video Included)

Comanche County teen films himself abusing cat, airs on YouTube
In a disgusting case of animal abuse, a cat being abused was filmed by the culprits and posted on YouTube. A teenaged boy slammed a cat against a wall and repeatedly struck it. It was a hot topic on the internet all day Sunday and bloggers think it happened in Lawton.  Among the thousands of posts on the internet, commenters pointed to Lawton as the source after it was posted this weekend.

The teenager - who calls himself "Timmy" entered a bathroom that he called his laboratory. Inside the shower was a cat which the boy picked up by its neck and slammed against the wall and floor before beating it with his fists. The attack continued for more than a minute.

YouTube removed the video Sunday afternoon and disabled the user's account - but not before it was seen about 30,000 times. Local authorities confirm that they are investigating the video, and Lawton Police say the Comanche County Sheriff's Department is investigating. Sheriff Kenny Stradley has been shown the video.

Source: http://www.kenny-glenn.net/