Drugged-up man seen riding mini-motorbike with a child on his lap before police chase

This is the moment a drugged-up man was caught riding a mini-motorbike with a child on his lap.

Police footage showed Christopher Stainer, 27, with the youngster near a playground in Stoke-on-Trent on 14 June last year, while over the legal limit for cannabis.

Neither of them was wearing a helmet.

A National Police Air Service (NPAS) helicopter had followed Stainer as he headed towards the Bentilee Estate before dropping off the child to a white van which was later intercepted by officers.

The chopper was already up as part of Staffordshire Police’s fight against nuisance off-road bikes when it was alerted to the man.

Read more: Fines worth £11,000 handed to people at child’s birthday party

Stanier travelled through Adderley Green, Weston Coyney, across the A500 and into the Meir Park area using a mixture of roads, footpaths, alleyways, public tracks and fields, the force said.

Police off-road bikes had attempted to stop him but he continued to travel towards a housing estate.

After a short pursuit Stanier, of Meir, Stoke-on-Trent was arrested and later admitted dangerous driving, driving without a license, driving while over the prescribed drug limit and failing to stop.

He was fined, given a community order and disqualified from driving for 18 months when he appeared at North Staffordshire Magistrates on Thursday.

PC Craig Beardsley of the force’s Road Policing Unit, who helped organise the joint operation between police and the NPAS, said: “Stanier showed little regard for the safety of himself or the young child – with neither wearing helmets nor the necessary safety gear.

“He was over the legal limit for cannabis and put himself and the child at a great risk of serious injury. Fortunately, no one was hurt.”

Read more: Woman, 25, mauled to death by pet dog at home

Chief Superintendent Elliott Sharrard-Williams, head of Staffordshire Police’s Operational Support Directorate, added: “The partnership we have with the National Police Air Service is pivotal in tackling off-road bikers and we will continue to do what we can to keep our communities safe.

“I urge the public to continue reporting incidents of this nature and help us to help them. The data provided by these reports helps us ensure the helicopter is deployed at the right time and in the right place – allowing us to intercept more of these nuisance riders.”

Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK News