Cheltenham P-plater busted with three mates on ute tray in Goughs Bay

A Cheltenham P-plater has had a long weekend to forget after he was caught in Mansfield with three people, including two children, hiding in the back of his ute.

A teenager was caught with three passengers hiding in the back of his ute during a police intercept near Mansfield. File picture.

A Cheltenham teen has had his ute impounded and could face further trouble after he was busted with three people hiding on the back of his ute in the state’s northeast.

Police pulled over the 18-year-old driver while patrolling on Walshs Rd in Goughs Bay, near Mansfield, on March 12 at 10am.

The teen, who held a P1 drivers’ license, was being breath-tested when an officers noticed a blanket suddenly move in the cargo area of his Ford Falcon ute.

They then found three other passengers – an adult and two children – curled up underneath the blanket in the ute tray.

P1 license holders are only allowed to have one extra passenger with them inside a car.

The adult stowaway passenger was fined, while the 18-year-old Cheltenham man had his ute immediately impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1865.

He is expected to be charged on summons for breaching license conditions and driving with a passenger in part of a car designed for the carriage of goods.