Man got car – which didn’t belong to him – stuck in sand on beach and left it there

A disqualified driver took a woman’s car without her permission and got it stuck in sand.

Carl Roper, 47, of no fixed address, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday where he pleaded guilty to three offences.

Roper took a Ford Fiesta belonging to a woman who was in police custody at the time and drove it to Heacham’s South Beach, where he got it stuck in the sand.

Prosecutor Lesla Small said that on July 9, police found an abandoned vehicle on South Beach, and that CCTV showed Roper getting out of the driver’s side door.

The vehicle was previously in Hunstanton, but had been moved to Heacham.

The woman whose car was stolen said that she had not given anyone permission to move it.

In a police interview, he said that his friend had driven the car to Hunstanton Tesco, then to West Lynn McDonalds before going to Heacham.

Roper added in interview that he only drove the car on South Beach, as he thought he would be allowed to do so and thought it was private property.

Once the car got stuck in the sand, Roper and his friend decided to leave the car and walk back home.

Roper was disqualified from driving in 2019 and had to complete an extended retest before being allowed back on the roads again – but he never took that retest.

In mitigation, Andrew Cogan said that vehicles in that area of Heacham were “prone to getting stuck”.

“It was like that when I last went there,” said Mr Cogan.

Six points were added to Roper’s licence and he was ordered to pay a fine of £120.

He will also pay a victim surcharge of £48 and court costs of £50.