Jailed after sixth driving while banned

A Bannockburn driver guilty of driving while disqualified for a sixth time was this week jailed for 11 months and banned from driving for ten years.

Robert Barclay, of Academy Place, had admitted a charge of driving while disqualified on Falkirk Road in Bannockburn on April 26, 2019.

At Stirling Sheriff Court on Wednesday, fiscal depute Rachel Wallace said police officers saw Barclay driving on Falkirk Road at 3.45pm that day and signalled for him to stop.

Barclay (48) was found to be the sole occupant of the car.

A check was carried out, said the fiscal depute, and officers learned the accused’s driving licence had been revoked on February 21, 2018, in Cumbria.

When this was put to Barclay by officers he denied any knowledge of it and insisted that he had a licence.

Ms Wallace said when police went back to their office further checks were carried out. As well as the revoked licence, officers found out Barclay had been disqualified from driving for a year from April 18, 2019, at Stirling Sheriff Court.

In a plea of mitigation, Barclay’s agent Virgil Crawford told Sheriff Wyllie Robertson he was “not quite sure”what his client’s position was on the revocation of his licence, but accepted he had been driving while disqualified.

Barclay had been disposing of the car at the time, Mr Crawford added, but“ought not to have been driving”.

The lawyer continued: “That’s the explanation. I accept that it’s clearly not a particularly a good one.”

Mr Crawford pointed out Barclay was“well aware of the court’s powers and under no illusions”that“custody is clearly an option”.

Barclay was living with his wife and children and Mr Crawford asked Sheriff Robertson to deal with the matter through a community payback order comprising unpaid work.

But Sheriff Robertson told Barclay:“you have a bad record, and it has been said in the High Court before that imprisonment for a first section 103 [driving while disqualified] offence many not be inappropriate.

“This is now your sixth conviction for driving while disqualified. No other sentence than a custodial one is appropriate.”

Sheriff Robertson sentenced Barclay to 11 months’imprisonment, reduced from 12 due to his guilty plea.

He also banned him from driving for 10 years.