Graduate jailed for trying to dodge speeding fine

Updated

A university graduate who tried to dodge a speeding fine by paying a "legal expert" who provided false driver details to police has been jailed for three months.

West Midlands Police said Ayesha Ahmed - who has a degree in international relations and politics - had ruined a potentially promising career for the sake of not paying a small fine.

Ahmed, of Baptist End Road, Netherton, Dudley, was caught speeding in her BMW twice within five minutes by a mobile camera van parked near her home in July 2014.

But rather than accept a driver awareness course for travelling at 39mph and 40mph in a 30mph zone, the 27-year-old graduate paid £450 to a man who claimed he could exploit a "legal loophole" enabling her to escape punishment.

Notices of Intended Prosecution (NIPs) sent to Ahmed were then returned to enforcement officers, claiming that a woman from Walsall was behind the wheel of the BMW.

Inquiries revealed that eight other speeding offences had been attributed to drivers living at the same Walsall address.

Ahmed stood trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court but was jailed on Monday after a jury unanimously found her guilty of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She was also banned from driving for 58 weeks.

Pc Steve Jevons, of the West Midlands Camera Enforcement Unit, said: "Ahmed has paid a heavy price for thinking she could lie her way out of speeding offences.

"The jury concluded she was deliberately trying to avoid justice and not, as she claimed, victim of a scam by a bogus lawyer.

"She never met this 'legal expert', didn't have an address or phone number for him, and paid the money via a third party.

"Ahmed was given every opportunity to admit her guilt - an admission that would have spared her a jail term - and even the judge asked if she wanted to proceed to trial in the face of damning evidence.

"It's a sorry tale. She has no previous convictions but a potentially promising career is now in ruins and all because she wanted to retain a clean licence."

Warning other motorists to steer clear of anyone offering to provide false details to the police, Pc Jevons added: "Don't be conned by anyone saying they know a person who, for a fee, can 'make speeding fines go away'.

"These people try passing blame on to 'phantom' drivers, knowing the authorities won't be able to trace them and assuming the matter will be dropped."

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