Man drove from court after ban..gets jail. - 30th Jan 2009 1:36pm
A LIVERPOOL man has been jailed after he drove away from court where he had just been banned from getting behind the wheel.
Peter Latham, 25, ignored an order that prevents him from driving for 12 months in one of the quickest breaches in legal history.
On Wednesday, the Bootle man appeared at Liverpool Community Justice Centre in Vauxhall and admitted drink-driving and using his mobile phone on January 11.
But two minutes after district judge Richard Clancy fined him and banned him from the road for a year he was back in the driving seat.
Latham, who said he works as a close protection officer in Iraq, was jailed yesterday for 10 weeks for what a second judge described as ‘blatant and tantamount to contempt.’
He was caught on CCTV striding down the court path holding his driving ban notice.
[youtube]X5xTfJSoF10[/youtube]
He headed straight for his Vauxhall Astra in the car par, and without a second thought got in and drove out on to Latimer Street on his way home.
His actions were spotted and the CCTV film was handed over to police.
Later that day, officers knocked on Latham’s door and arrested him for driving while disqualified and without insurance.
Back in court yesterday he admitted the two offences.
Single man Latham, who earns between £40,000-£70,000, had asked if he could pay a large fine to keep his job.
The court heard the defendant, of Stuart Road North, was fearful of not being able to make a flight back to Iraq to continue his employment in ‘close protection security’ for paramedics.
The 10-week jail term now means his job is under threat.
Victoria Marquis, defending Latham, claimed her client had thought the ban came into effect only when he handed in his driving licence.
But this explanation was rejected by Judge Ian Lomax.
Mr Lomax told Latham: “It seems to me your senses were deluded by being in Iraq.
“This is the most blatant breach that I’ve seen in a long time. Judge Clancy took a lenient view in sentencing you, and I take the view that the court’s credibility has been seriously undermined.
“You were given the document, you signed it. There is only one result of breaching a court order within minutes, that is immediate custody.
the liverpool echo
Peter Latham, 25, ignored an order that prevents him from driving for 12 months in one of the quickest breaches in legal history.
On Wednesday, the Bootle man appeared at Liverpool Community Justice Centre in Vauxhall and admitted drink-driving and using his mobile phone on January 11.
But two minutes after district judge Richard Clancy fined him and banned him from the road for a year he was back in the driving seat.
Latham, who said he works as a close protection officer in Iraq, was jailed yesterday for 10 weeks for what a second judge described as ‘blatant and tantamount to contempt.’
He was caught on CCTV striding down the court path holding his driving ban notice.
[youtube]X5xTfJSoF10[/youtube]
He headed straight for his Vauxhall Astra in the car par, and without a second thought got in and drove out on to Latimer Street on his way home.
His actions were spotted and the CCTV film was handed over to police.
Later that day, officers knocked on Latham’s door and arrested him for driving while disqualified and without insurance.
Back in court yesterday he admitted the two offences.
Single man Latham, who earns between £40,000-£70,000, had asked if he could pay a large fine to keep his job.
The court heard the defendant, of Stuart Road North, was fearful of not being able to make a flight back to Iraq to continue his employment in ‘close protection security’ for paramedics.
The 10-week jail term now means his job is under threat.
Victoria Marquis, defending Latham, claimed her client had thought the ban came into effect only when he handed in his driving licence.
But this explanation was rejected by Judge Ian Lomax.
Mr Lomax told Latham: “It seems to me your senses were deluded by being in Iraq.
“This is the most blatant breach that I’ve seen in a long time. Judge Clancy took a lenient view in sentencing you, and I take the view that the court’s credibility has been seriously undermined.
“You were given the document, you signed it. There is only one result of breaching a court order within minutes, that is immediate custody.
the liverpool echo
