Fine for disqualified driver who never retook driving test

53-year-old spotted behind wheel in Ramsey

Magistrates have fined a motorist who was caught behind the wheel of a Range Rover despite being disqualified from driving.

Paul Ian Carey, of Jurby West, was stopped by police on Albert Road in Ramsey on 28 October last year.

The 53-year-old had been banned from driving for five years by a court in 1999 and had never retaken his driving test.

At Douglas Courthouse Carey’s advocate told the court he’d been driven into the town by an employee but had taken the decision to move the vehicle closer to the shop they were attending.

"He did something that was really very stupid," he added.

He said Carey had 'adapted' to life without a driving licence and had never got round to taking another test: "It was on the to-do list and never got done," he said.

Fining Carey £1,000, and ordering him to pay prosecution costs of £50, Magistrates told him: "This is an unusual case in many ways – this was a very silly mistake."