Boston Magistrates Court

Pensioner (82) who has never had a driving licence or insurance drove car in to dyke

An 82-year-old man who crashed into a dyke has never held a driving licence or had motor insurance, a court has heard.

Jasper Stewart of Cowley Road, Donington, Spalding admitted failing to provide a sample for analysis and driving without insurance or a driving licence when he appeared at Boston Magistrates Court.

Prosecuting, Ela Crighton said firefighters saw Stewart, who was lying across the passenger seat in a Vauxhall Insignia in a dyke in Bulls Bank on May 23 and called police after smelling alcohol.

She said he was got out of the car and provided a positive breath test and arrested.

However, she told the court, Stewart failed to provide a specimen for analysis at the police station and it was established that he had never held a driving licence or insurance to drive.

Mitigating, Michael Alexander said Stewart had only got the car that day as he had been drinking in a pub and had bought the car from someone there so he could give it to his daughter so she could take him shopping.

He said Stewart thought he should take the car away from the pub car park and that was when he drove it into the dyke.

Mr Alexander said Stewart did provide four samples of breath at the police station but none of them were long enough for analysis, but he did need an inhaler and this might have been a defence to the charge but

Stewart did not want to drive at all and so was happy to be disqualified.

The magistrates banned him from driving for three years and imposed a fine of £120 and £119 in court costs and charges.

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