PETER HITCHENS: Poor Gloria Stephenson's life was wiped out by a drug-damaged oaf... but her death was caused by this basic problem in our society

By PETER HITCHENS, COLUMNIST AND COMMENTATOR Published: 01:57, 17 May 2026 | Updated: 01:57, 17 May 2026 Cruel Billy Stokoe killed poor Gloria Stephenson with a motorbike he rode with one hand on the handlebars, in sunny broad daylight in a Sunderland suburb.  He committed his crime on a zebra crossing, that relic of a gentler age, where poor Mrs Stephenson rashly thought it was safe. Please do not make her mistake. In fact, live your life in the knowledge that drug-damaged yahoos are everywhere in our country, many of them crouched, one-handed, on totally illegal motorbikes of the kind that ended Mrs Stephenson’s decent life and left her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren bereft forever. Nothing can now be done. Our pathetic authorities have reached their limits, behaving as they always do, slowly and weakly.  But even if they had the lawful power to hang Stokoe from a gibbet at the scene of his crime with his handlebars wrapped round his neck and his phone shoved halfway down his throat (an idea obviously ruled out in our enlightened times), it would be too late. Instead he must just go and take his illegal drugs and stare at his phone in an inmate-governed prison, until they let him out early to make room for some other oaf. Gloria Stephenson can be seen walking on to a zebra crossing on a sunny day in a Sunderland suburb, just before Billy Stokoe hit her with his motorbike The zebra crossing is a 'relic of a gentler age' which 'poor Mrs Stephenson rashly thought was safe', writes Peter Hitchens. 'Please do not make her mistake' 'Live your life in the knowledge that drug-damaged yahoos are everywhere in our country... many of them crouched on totally illegal motorbikes.' (Pictured: Aftermath of the fatal crash) The lonesome death of Gloria Stephenson was foredoomed, thanks to one basic problem in our society. Here it is: Nobody in authority gives a flying fig about blatant lawbreaking. Now, you will say rightly that Stokoe’s motorbike was illegal on the road and would have been even if its brakes worked and he had not been gaping through a drugged haze at his stupid phone.  The lethal thing weighed eight-and-a half stone and could travel at 47mph. And you and I see these devices racing down our roads and pavements and through our parks every day. Most of them are blatantly illegal. But because a 2002 EU directive (adopted by us in 2015) foolishly legalised some electric motorbikes, and because the police in this country are in general uninterested in preventing crime, little is done to stop them. Unlicensed motor vehicles ridden by unlicensed drivers are a recipe for carnage. Yet our political class have left it untackled for years. Ask your MP why. And while you are about it, ask him or her why they have also allowed the back-door legalisation of marijuana. Amazingly, there is a legal limit for how much of this illegal mind-wrecking filth you can have in your blood. Stokoe was three times over it. Thousands of lives, now ruined, would continue happily if we had a proper police force and proper courts. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.