Speeding driver caught near mistress’s home blamed his mum-in-law
A LOVE cheat tried to blame his mother-in-law for speeding so his wife did not think he had been visiting a former mistress.
Raymond Haslam, 48, was caught by a speed camera driving his wife’s car at 38mph in a 30mph zone near the home of his unnamed ex-lover.
Worried his wife Amanda – a police employee – would think the affair was still going on, he tried to cover his tracks. He intercepted a Notice of Intended Prosecution sent to Mrs Haslam as the vehicle’s registered keeper, Manchester Crown Court was told.
Answering a question about who was driving the car, Haslam entered the name of his innocent mother-in-law Margaret Shaw – when she was living in Tenerife.
The court heard Haslam’s deceit was uncovered after his wife’s colleagues at Greater Manchester Police – where she worked handling speeding fines – became suspicious. They knew Mrs Shaw was abroad at the time of the offence in Salford in August 2014.
Haslam has now been given a three month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service.
Sentencing, Judge Michael Leeming said: ‘You explained that in the past you had an affair. But you had been driving in the area where the woman had lived, so you were concerned that if your wife found out she would believe the affair was still ongoing.’
Prosecuting, Chris Richards told the hearing: ‘ He got the ticket and sent it off in his mother-in-law’s name. He did so to try and stop himself getting in trouble.’
Haslam and his wife separated in November. In mitiga- tion, Robert Smith said Haslam, who now lives in Essex, was a ‘ hardworking man who takes family commitments seriously’.
Mrs Haslam, 47, and their daughter Victoria, 30, were cleared of perverting the course of justice in a separate trial at Manchester Crown Court.
Miss Haslam’s vehicle was caught speeding in July 2015. Mrs Haslam, of Bury, said she had been driving, but the prosecution said she was at work at the time.
Mrs Haslam and her daughter denied the charges and were acquitted of all counts on February 6.