Driver’s scam to beat ban

An Oldham taxi driver who lied to avoid appearing in court, was spared immediate prison because of his disabled wife.

Father-of-three, Zafar Iqbal (34) gave false details after going through a red light in Ashton in 2009.

A police investigation revealed the address he gave on a notice of intended prosecution had been used in over 500 other traffic cases.

The widespread scam had resulted in District Judge Jonathon Taaffe recently jailing several motorists for two months.

But Iqbal was handed a suspended two-month sentence because his wife had been disabled in a car crash and one of his children had sight problems.

At Manchester Magistrates’ Court the judge said: “What you did is extremely serious. But if you went to jail immediately there would be exceptional hardship and the burden of looking after your family would fall on the State.

“Normally people can expect jail because public confidence must be maintained. This was a deliberate attempt to avoid a potential ban and legal process”.

Iqbal, of Thurland Road, had admitted a charge of perjury. He was also given 240 hours unpaid work, banned from the road for six months and ordered to pay £85 costs.

Estelle Parkhouse, defending, said at the time Iqbal had 10 points on his licence and a ban would have cost him his job.

“After speaking to a cousin he left the notice of prosecution on the mantelpiece and never saw it again”, claimed Mrs Parkhouse.