A MOTORCYCLIST sped along narrow Lake District roads at up to 130mph as he raced three friends in their cars.

Carlisle Crown Court was shown hair-raising video clips filmed by 21-year-old Aaron Luck as he rode his Suzuki motorbike dangerously on narrow Lake District roads, prompting the judge to tell the defendant he had treated public roads like a "race track".

Luck admitted dangerous driving. 

After imposing a suspended 12-month prison sentence for the "prolonged offence" - in which Luck tried to outpace his friends as they drove Nissan Micras - Judge Paul Lawton demanded a written explanation from Cumbria Police for why the motorists involved were not prosecuted.

Gerard Rogerson, prosecuting, said police had provided a "disappointing" confirmation that the motorists were neither arrested nor questioned.

The judge commented: "I think the public would... find it negligent."

Outlining the offence, Mr Rogerson said police became involved when Luck was involved in a minor crash at Caldbeck Common on May 16 last year.

When police attended, a bystander pointed out a video camera on Luck's motorbike helmet. Officers seized it - and found the incriminating footage of Luck's riding that day.

"Mr Luck performed a number of stunts," said Mr Rogerson, describing how the defendant had been out with three pals, each of them driving a Nissan Micras, whose number plates were visible in some of the footage.

The video showed them riding "in convoy" on the B5289 between Keswick and Borrowdale.

Luck repeatedly did "wheelies". On the A66 near Bassenthwaite, Luck reached 125mph, at one point riding one-handed while overtaking.

At one point, earlier in the clip, the defendant is seen being overtaken by a Nissan Micra as his friends carry out the role of "pace-setters", said Mr Rogerson, pointing out that the top speed Luck reached that day was 130mph.

Of the failure to prosecute the car drivers, Mr Rogerson added: "It's slightly unfair this young man finds himself the only man in the dock."

Luck accepted that riding one-handed at 130mph while looking over his shoulder was "extremely dangerous."

"But he did feel under pressure to show off," added the prosecutor.

Jeff Smith, for Luck, from Croft Place, Penrith, who has never been in trouble before, accepted that it was a miracle neither the defendant nor anybody else was hurt.

His £2,000 motorbike - never reclaimed by Luck - had been crushed by the police. "He now doesn't have a motorcycle," said Mr Smith.

"That was a decision not only by him but also by his mother, his sister and his stepfather." Luck was now more mature, added Mr Smith.

Judge Lawton told Luck it was obvious why he crashed on Caldbeck Common: "It was because you were riding round the roads of the Lake District as if you were in an Isle of Man TT race."

He and his friends set out that day to race and show off. The judge suspended the jail term for 18 months and told Luck he must complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 10 rehabilitation days.

Luck was given a two-year ban and must pass an extended test before being allowed to ride unsupervised. The judge told Luck: "You have come within a whisker of going into custody."