Bank account freeze on bad drivers

Courts have started freezing bank accounts of convicts who don’t pay fines.

A Troon driver who had failed to pay two fines for careless driving swiftly stumped up more than £ 1000.

The man was fined £ 400 at Ayr Sheriff Court and £ 700 at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court but ignored warning letters and did not pay. Fines officers obtained a bank arrestment order and the full amount was then recovered.

A Prestwick woman who owed £ 550 after being fined at Ayr Sheriff Court for drink driving but had failed to pay after more than six months, settled the amount in full when she found that her bank cash had been seized.

And five drivers from Cumnock who repeatedly refused to settle outstanding fines have stumped up more than £ 1000.

The four men and one woman had fines ranging from £ 150 to £ 500 for motoring offences which had remained unpaid for up to a year.