Court of Appeal ruling confirms passengers may breach car cruising injunctions and face penalties, after challenge by man found in contempt was dismissed.
The court has dismissed a challenge by a man found to have breached a High Court injunction against street cruising, ruling that passengers in racing cars can be deemed participants.
Muhammad Aksahin had appealed against a finding of contempt made in June 2025, which resulted in a 14-day suspended prison sentence and costs of more than £5,000.
The case stemmed from an injunction obtained by Enfield Council in December 2024 banning car cruising – including racing, stunts and dangerous driving – between 15:00 and 7:00. Warning notices were widely displayed, including at Enfield Retail Park.
On 18th May 2025, Aksahin was issued with a Section 59 warning after performing ‘donuts’ in his own car at the site. Five days later, he was a passenger in a BMW racing another vehicle in the Clay Hall area. Both cars were stopped by police and the occupants arrested.
During his trial, Aksahin denied knowledge of the injunction and said that, as a passenger who had asked the driver to stop, he had not participated. He also raised concerns about representing himself and a language barrier.
The deputy High Court judge rejected his account, finding to the criminal standard that he knew of the order and had taken part anyway. He was given a suspended 14-day sentence and ordered to pay £5,170.50.
Dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Peter Jackson, sitting with Lords Justices Cobb and Miles, rejected all six grounds of challenge.
The court held that ‘the mere presence of one car cruiser as a passenger in another car cruiser’s car will constitute strong evidence of participation because, by its nature, it encourages the type of showing off that lies at the heart of car cruising.’
Arguments over the weight given to the police warning and the level of costs were also rejected. ‘The judge had a wide discretion in the matter of costs,’ the ruling stated. ‘He was entitled to prioritise the prospect of the local authority recovering as much of its costs as possible.’
The suspended prison term had already lapsed, but the court warned any future breach of a similar injunction would be unlikely to attract a suspended sentence.
Enfield Council welcomed the decision, saying it reinforced the effectiveness of its efforts to tackle street cruising.
Image: Hsu-Han/UnSplash
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