TWO Bradford men who went for a joyride in a school bus offered police officers who were trying to catch them a lift, a court heard.

Todd Baldwin, 25, and Michael Crossley, 23, were summoned to appear at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates’ Court yesterday in connection with the incident, which occurred on September 6.

Crossley, of Thornton Road, pleaded guilty to being carried in a motor vehicle taken without the owner’s consent, with his solicitor, Sarah Guttman, stating the amount of cider he had consumed had led to “reduced decision-making skills”.

Baldwin, also of Thornton Road, faced charges of taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent, drink-driving, and driving without a licence or insurance. He failed to attend court and magistrates issued a warrant for his arrest.

Prosecutor Nadine Clough told the court that the single-deck vehicle, belonging to First Bus, had broken down on Thornton Road near Crossley Hall Primary School at around 3.30pm on the date of the offence. An engineer attended, and the bus was left with its keys in the ignition to allow it to be recovered.

At around 7.45pm, PCSOs on duty in the area saw the yellow bus being driven “extremely slowly” towards Bradford city centre with no lights on. The vehicle was seen to mount the kerb slightly as it then turned into Olive Grove.

As officers approached the bus, they saw two men leaving the vehicle, and Miss Clough told the court that one of the pair said to police: “Would you like to get on the bus?” Both men involved were said to have been drinking cider out of mugs.

After being arrested, Baldwin is said to have told police: “How could I ignore the bus, it was open with the keys in?

“I would have gone faster but I couldn’t get it out of first gear.”

Crossley made full admissions of the offence in his police interview, saying he was sorry for the risk caused to the public.

Miss Guttman said her client had been job-seeking since moving to Bradford last year, and had committed the offence out of a combination of “boredom, alcohol, and temptation”.

Chairman of the Bench, Captain Alan Wrigley, labelled Crossley’s actions “stupid” and “clearly a very irresponsible act”.

He was given a 12-month community order with 80 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £85 surcharge.