Driver sped past police then showed fake licence

A DRIVER pulled out a counterfeit licence he had bought on the internet when he was stopped for speeding past a police car on the A38.

Derby Crown Court heard how Benito Maxwell then tried to say records held about it on the DVLA were incorrect.

As the 30-year-old from Swadlincote has never passed his test, the insurance he held on his car – which had a headlight out – was invalid.

And he was told by a judge he richly deserved to be sent to prison for his “reckless attitude” towards the licensing system.

Jailing him for three months, suspended for a year, Recorder David Richards said: “You were caught with a fake driving licence.

“You had tried, it seems half-heartedly, to get a licence but you were not able to pass your theory test.

“You gave up trying and went online and bought yourself a fake driving licence which you had in your pocket in case you were caught and asked to provide it for identification.

“When caught by the police you tried to brazen it out, not realising the police can check these things.

“What a short prison sentence does is mark the importance of the integrity of the identification procedures we have on this country.

“But, with a great deal of hesitation, I have reached the conclusion and I can be criticised for this, that this does not require you to go straight to prison.”

Stephen Kemp, prosecuting, said an officer in a marked police car was driving on the dual carriageway between Ripley and Alfreton at 5.50am on February 21, last year, when he noticed a red Renault in his rear-view mirror.

He said he noticed one front headlight cluster was out and Maxwell, who was driving it, then overtook him “at substantial speed”, so he indicated for the car to pull over.

Mr Kemp said Maxwell pulled off the A38 and stopped as directed.

He said: “Checks showed the car was registered to Mr Maxwell but because of the other offence that his insurance was not valid.

“He was asked to show his licence and pulled it out. The officer looked at it and became suspicious that it was counterfeit and a check of the PNC (police national computer) showed he only held a provisional licence.”

Mr Kemp said further checks with the DVLA showed the licence not to be genuine and in an interview Maxwell, of Durham Close, Midway, denied any intention to deceive, suggesting the DVLA records were incorrect.

But he later pleaded guilty to possessing a counterfeit licence, driving without a valid licence and without insurance. He has no convictions of any kind.

Justin Ablott, mitigating, said his client had pleaded guilty to all three offences at the first available opportunity. He said: “He was astonished at how serious a matter this is when he was told by magistrates (at the lower court) but he knows he is the author of his own misfortune.”

As part of the suspended sentence, Maxwell was ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. He was also disqualified from driving for 18 months.