Football manager fined for forcing cyclist off road

A non-league football manager has been fined £500 for careless driving after witnesses described how he used his vehicle as a weapon to force a cyclist off the road.

Chippenham Town caretaker boss Mike Cook, aged 51, had originally pleaded not guilty to dangerous driving and elected for trial by jury at Gloucester Crown Court, but entered a guilty plea to the less serious charge in court.

Cook, who was driving a BMW X3 had initially come across the cyclist on King’s Street in Stroud and remained behind him at the junction of George Street and London Road, reports the Stroud News & Journal.

Janine Wood, prosecuting, said that Cook made a close pass on the cyclist and was shouting at him.

Due to the congestion, the cyclist passed Cook again on Union Street, and Cook tried to overtake him again on a narrow section of that road but had to brake sharply because there was a Land Rover coming the other way.

Speaking in mitigation, Richard Dawson said Cook was frustrated with the bike rider and he was rushing to get home since he had spent three hours on a train.

Richard Dawson, defending, told the court that Cook was frustrated with the cyclist as he was in a rush to get home having been on a train for over three hours.

Besides the fine, Judge Michael Cullum also put six penalty points on Cook’s licence, which had already been endorsed with six points, meaning he was banned from driving for six months under the totting-up process.

Cook joined Chippenham Town earlier this year after briefly managing Gloucester City and previously managed Cinderford Town.

As a player, he won the FA Youth Cup with Coventry City before going on to play for league clubs including York City and Cambridge United.​