Van driver’s failed plan to dodge speeding ticket
A VAN driver tried to con his way out of a speeding ticket by adding stripes to his vehicle and then submitting a photo to the authorities claiming they had always been there.
William Britton, 62, was snapped doing 74mph in a 60mph zone near Carmarthen but rather than taking the three points on his licence, he bought stickers for his van and used them to pretend the vehicle wasn’t his.
A judge at Swansea Crown Court told Britton he was now in a much worse position than if he had accepted the ticket.
Brian Simpson, prosecuting, said that on February 19 last year a white Ford Transit van was caught on camera doing 72mph on a 60mph stretch of the A40. A notice of intended prosecution was sent to the registered keeper of the vehicle, Britton, asking for details of the driver. The court heard the defendant asked for a copy of the photograph, which was sent. However, it was not possible to identify the person behind the wheel from the snap.
Over the next fortnight Britton sent four emails asking for better-quality pictures but none were available.
The prosecutor said on April 6 Britton emailed the speeding enforcement team raising concerns that his van had been cloned and later sent a photograph of his vehicle with large black stripes on the bonnet, red stripes on the side, and a speed limit sticker and GB suffix on the number plate – marks which were not seen on the vehicle snapped by the speed camera.
The authorities became suspicious and Britton’s deception was uncovered thanks to an investigation which lasted 300 hours and involved mobile phone movements, automatic number plate recognition cameras and bank records.
Britton, of Gelli Dawel, Energlyn, Caerphilly, had previously pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice. With a one-third discount for his guilty plea, he was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months, disqualified from driving for six months and ordered to pay £500 towards prosecution costs.