MANCHESTER United soccer supremo Sir Alex Ferguson was in Bury this week to keep a rather unwelcome appointment.
The Old Trafford boss was at the town's magistrate's court where he was acquitted of driving along the hard shoulder of the M602 in Eccles in his BMW 7 series .
The court heard that Sir Alex (57, pictured leaving the court) was suffering from gastro-enteritis and drove on to the hard shoulder to get out of a traffic jam. He wanted to get to Old Trafford where he could use the toilet.
The law says illness is an acceptable reason to drive on the hard shoulder.
Scores of journalists descended on the Tenters Street courthouse for the hearing on Tuesday.
Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article