Joshua Dean Tratford, 23, sentenced for hooning with unsecured passengers in car

A man who performed burnouts in front of a crowd of 50 people with unsecured passengers in his car has been given a serious ultimatum by a South East Queensland court.

A serial hoon caught on multiple videos doing burnouts with unsecured passengers in his car, while spectators ran across a road, has been warned he could end up behind bars for his risky “hobby”.

Joshua Dean Tratford, 23, pleaded guilty in Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday to two counts of dangerous operation of a vehicle.

The court heard police captured the Loganlea resident on eight videos during a series of incidents where he performed burnouts while up to 50 spectators ran across roads.

The incidents occurred on May 6 and May 20 and included executing the burnouts with unrestrained passengers over the age of 16.

The court heard police spent considerable resources on combating hoon events, known as “meets”.

Serial hoon Joshua Dean Tratford, 23, leaves Beenleigh Magistrates Court. Picture: Marcel Baum

The court heard Tratford had a poor driving history that included a sentence for making excessive noise while performing burnouts in 2016 and 2020.

His lawyer said Tratford would lose a mechanical apprenticeship he had been working towards for years due to his licence disqualification.

He had also bought a track vehicle to pursue his hobby in a safe environment.

They said spectators were willing participants and had placed themselves in danger, but Tratford knew what he did was wrong.

“It is a high-octane event. There is skill involved; you can’t just put your foot down,” they said.

But Magistrate Ronald Kilner said Tratford’s “stupid behaviour” endangered innocent people and warned him that jail was “not out of bounds” should he reoffend.

Tratford was sentenced to 12 months’ probation and disqualified from driving for a further eight months.