Helmet hater shouts abuse at magistrate

A staunch hater of ­bicycle helmets who called an Australian magistrate an "ignorant bastard" has narrowly avoided being jailed for contempt. The outburst from Alexander Reid, 55, of Cairns, who is facing a charge of riding a bike without a helmet on September 24 last year, came on Monday after magistrate Joe Pinder told him that his matter had been set down for a hearing on March 31.

"I’m not entering a plea," Mr Reid, who was representing himself, said, to which Mr Pinder replied that a not guilty plea had been entered on his behalf. "You can’t do that. That’s a breach of the Human Rights Act," Mr Reid shouted back. I’m on a disability pension, you ignorant bastard."



Mr Pinder ordered Mr Reid be taken into custody on the spot and be charged with contempt, telling him that his behaviour in court had been "tolerated a whole lot of times". However, before Mr Reid was led away, Mr Pinder gave him a chance to apologise and the defendant quickly did so, sparing himself a night in the cells. "I apologise for that harsh language," Mr Reid said.

Mr Pinder warned him that if he used language like that again he would be going to jail for "a very, very long time". The activist, who campaigns against skin cancer risks, had earlier told the court he had not worn a helmet on the day he was charged because he was trying to protect himself from UV exposure with a sunhat.