A man was caught with a counterfeit driving licence and defective tyres after running a red light next to a police car near Chippenham.
Bristolian Alexandre Silva, 35, appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (25 August) charged with using a motor vehicle in a condition likely to cause danger of injury, driving otherwise in accordance with a licence and driving without insurance.
Prosecutor Pauline Lambert said the defendant, who was supported by an interpreter, passed a stationary marked police car whilst it was waiting at red traffic lights on Christmas Eve 2020.
Following the red light jump on Junction 17 of the M4, officers decided to pull over the Nissan Qashqai and Silva was found to be driving it.
He provided the officers with two driving licences, one Brazillian and one Portuguese, but they soon discovered the Portuguese licence was in fact a counterfeit and he was not permitted to drive on the other.
As police examined his vehicle, they found two tyres were defective, labelled as “so old” by Ms Lambert. She said the tyre’s markings had perished and were unreadable, and the cord exposed. As a result, his vehicle was seized.
Duty defence solicitor Mark Glendenning said his client was on a “mercy mission to rescue a friend who had broken down”, adding that he’d become “confused at the junction where there are two sets of lights on different phases.”
It was said that Silva, who works as a butcher, did not intentionally acquire a fake driving licence but trusted an English-speaking friend with the task of sending off for one.
“He had given his details and money to a friend who could speak English to get a licence for him, because he could complete the forms. He believed the licence he received to be genuine but he didn’t make too many enquiries”, Mr Glendenning said.
The court was told that Silva does not normally drive the Nissan Qashqai and that it is his partner’s vehicle. He was named on the insurance policy and believed he was insured.
Magistrates fined him £430 for no insurance, £143 for no licence, £150 for the defective tyres and imposed six points on his driving licence. He must also pay costs of £85 and a £72 victim surcharge.
