Banned Sheffield driver caught behind the wheel of a BMW on motorway is jailed
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Sheffield Crown Court heard on March 4 how Tobias Swindells, aged 28, of Manor Park Road, Manor Park, Sheffield, was seen driving a BMW on the M621 motorway in Leeds by police and was stopped on Valley Farm Road.
Giles Bridge, prosecuting, said Swindells had already been given a suspended prison sentence in July, 2021, for dangerous driving following a police pursuit and he was banned from driving for 18 months when police caught him driving in Leeds in December.
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Hide AdMr Bridge said: “He was in Leeds and he lives in Sheffield so it was a distance away.”
Swindells told police he had borrowed the vehicle from a friend.
The defendant, who has previous convictions including driving offences, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance, and he admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence.
Dermot Hughes, defending, said the offence happened when Swindells was struggling with the third anniversary of his father’s death.
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Hide AdMr Hughes added: “He drove from Sheffield to Leeds to be with a friend at a time when he was emotionally very troubled and he did not want to put his burden on others.”
Swindells’ “dearest wish” is to become a legal driver, according to Mr Hughes, because the defendant is a mechanic and the longer he remains banned from driving the less attractive he becomes as a prospective employee.
Judge Peter Kelson QC sentenced Swindells to six months of custody and disqualified him from driving for 24 months.