A SOFTWARE engineer described by his mum as “an academic genius” provoked a huge police search after crashing his motorbike on the A12 and fleeing the scene.

Phaedrus Finch was using false number plates on a Kawasaki motorbike in April when he ignored a rolling police road block near Witham.

Officers were trying to slow down traffic so they could close the road after they received reports of someone on a bridge.

Court – Phaedrus Finch leaves Colchester Magistrates' Court with his mother on TuesdayCourt – Phaedrus Finch leaves Colchester Magistrates' Court with his mother on Tuesday (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Finch, 21, ignored the road block and sped past police cars which had been lined up across three lanes.

He then lost control of his motorbike and collided with the central reservation.

The defendant, who did not have a driving licence, fled the scene and officers found the motorbike in the middle of the road, Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard on Tuesday.

Without knowing whether Finch, 21, had survived the crash, emergency services deployed an air ambulance and paramedics to treat him in case he was found.

Stuart Cowan, prosecuting, said: “The A12 was kept closed for three and a half hours and there were two miles of traffic – Finch had not been located and not contacted the police.”

Police were unable to track the motorbike because of the false number plates, and it fell to Finch’s mother, Christina Fox, to phone 999 shortly before midnight on Wednesday, April 24 when she discovered emergency services were searching for her son.

She later picked him up outside the Wheatsheaf Pub in Maldon Road and he confessed to the offences in a police interview.

Finch, of Flavius Way, Colchester, admitted driving a motor vehicle without a licence, using a fraudulent number plate, failing to stop after an accident, and driving without insurance.

Mitigation – it was said in court Phaedrus Finch had acted 'out of character'Mitigation – it was said in court Phaedrus Finch had acted 'out of character' (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

Anthony McKen, mitigating, said Finch had acted “completely out of character” and had been driving back and forth between Colchester and Chelmsford to see his mother, who was unwell.

He added: “He appears to be going somewhere with his life – his mum describes him being a gifted person, a genius from his academic ability.”

Finch was not banned from driving and instead received nine points on his licence.

He was also ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £219 in costs.

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