A MAN has been jailed after he devised an ‘elaborate’ ploy to lie his way out of having no driving insurance.


And Luke Craig also got a garage boss to fake paperwork to backup his story.


Craig claimed he was insured to drive a Ford Transit van after being stopped by police in Burnley, Preston Crown Court heard.


The 27-year-old dragged Ian Pilkington, into the conspiracy when he insisted the van had been provided by his Accrington garage, as a courtesy vehicle, and he would be covered under their policy.

When police approached Pilkington, the boss of Accrington’s Hillside Garage, he provided a signed statement, backing up Craig’s story, and an invoice which was said to cover the work.


However, police said further enquiries and the seizure of the Station Road garage owner’s laptop showed that the invoice had been backdated.


And the court heard traffic camera footage was unearthed showing Craig’s vehicle, supposedly under repair with Pilkington, being driven around by a third party.


Craig, of Griffin Close, Burnley, admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, and was jailed for 10 weeks.


Before the conspiracy was unravelled, the court heard Craig had originally told an officer, at the roadside, that the van belonged to him.


Pilkington, 41, of Straits Lane, Read, pleaded guilty to the same offence and a further charge of perjury. He was fined £1,000.

 

MORE TOP STORIES:


Craig was stopped by police in Burnley in May 2015.
Passing sentence, Judge Jonathon Gibson said the attempt by Craig to deceive the courts took place over a considerable period of time and the original offence was relatively serious in terms of road traffic law.


And while Pilkington’s involvement was relatively brief, the judged described him as ‘instrumental’ to the conspiracy.


The judge, who ruled that only a prison sentence was appropriate in Craig’s case, also praised the persistence of investigating officers in bringing the case to court.


Speaking after the crown court hearing, PC Jordan Bruce, said: “This was an elaborate but ultimately amateurish attempt by these two men to construct a tissue of lies to try to fool the courts.


“This sentence shows that lying to the court will not be tolerated and that those who do it will be punished appropriately.”


Craig was originally acquitted, by Burnley magistrates, of driving without insurance and that sentence will now be reviewed by the lower court.