Amesbury dad fled police on e-scooter with his children on board

David Brian Sage, 36, of Moyne Gardens, failed to stop for police who recognised him from a previous offence and began a chase through Amesbury on a scooter he was uninsured to ride while carrying two children.

Eight days before the incident, on January 11, Sage was stopped by PC Hobbs just outside his house at around 8.50am because his windscreen was misted.

Two young children in school uniform, his child and stepchild, were in the car when the officers smelled cannabis and noticed Sage's glazed pupils.

Sage admitted he was a regular cannabis user and that he had taken some the night before but failed to provide a blood sample when he was taken to Melksham, claiming he had a phobia of needles.

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On January 19, PC Hobbs received information suggesting a man was transferring his children to and from school on an electric scooter.

The officer recognised Sage and saw him, along with the two children, hop on an e-scooter near a school before asking him to stop but Sage accelerated away.

A 20-miles-per-hour chase ensued and PC Hobbs attempted to catch Sage on foot but was unsuccessful.

Prosecuting, Varun Chuni said Sage was "crossing pavements" and shouted to police officers: "You aren't taking me."

Officers eventually caught up to Sage at Butterfield Drive, Amesbury, and "pulled him off the cycle", causing him and the children to fall onto a patch of grass.

David Sage was chased down Butterfield Drive in Amesbury. (Image: Google Maps)

When taken to Melksham, Sage failed to provide a specimen of his blood for analysis and claimed, again, that he had a phobia of needles.

Paul Jones, mitigating, argued that everyone riding an electric scooter without insurance is committing an offence but "no one ever stops them".

"Because of the previous offence, police believed it was appropriate to follow him [Sage] and pull him off the cycle," Mr Jones told Salisbury Magistrates Court on Thursday, January 4.

Mr Jones added that Sage uses cannabis for self-medication purposes as his private prescription would cost him "£450".

Chair of the bench magistrate Mr Clark said: "You failed to provide a specimen and even by your own admission you had taken cannabis the night before, this is pretty serious.

"What the bench has taken more seriously is that there were two young children on the scooter at the time."

Sage, who pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen, using a motor vehicle without insurance and failing to stop, was sentenced to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 15 RAR days during a 12-month community order.

He was also disqualified from driving any motor vehicle for 20 months and ordered to pay £199.

When asked about breaching his probation for a previous crime, Sage said: "For the first one I was young and bitter but this one was all my fault."