A SECURITY guard at McDonald’s caught driving his Jaguar without insurance after his licence had been revoked for a similar offence told officers that he couldn’t afford to pay the £15,000 he had been quoted for cover.
Magistrates sitting at Llanelli Law Courts on Thursday (Aug 16) heard that Penclawdd resident Aaron Davies was ‘in a downward spiral’ of debt.
Davies, 19, pleaded guilty to charges of driving without a valid licence or insurance. Prosecuting, Sharon Anderson explained that the offences were committed on July 28.
Shortly before midnight, an officer on patrol near Parc Trostre noticed a Jaguar X-Type estate ahead of him and caused the vehicle to stop at the roundabout.
Davies identified himself as the owner of the vehicle, and a document check showed that his licence had been revoked last year for ‘totting up’ penalty points and he was not insured to drive the car.
Speaking to officers, Davies said that he had been driving to work as a security guard. He added that he had not insured the vehicle because it would cost him around £15,000 per year to do so.
“When officers put it to him that he could drive a cheaper vehicle than an S-Type Jaguar, Mr Davies said that he ‘couldn’t afford to just change vehicles’,” Ms Anderson remarked.
Davies had a valid provisional licence at the time of the offence, but was not displaying L-plates and did not have a qualified driver in the car with him.
His solicitor said that Davies was a ‘young man who needs to get a grip on his life’. He added that while the defendant was a qualified security guard in regular employment, this ‘masked a downward spiral’ of debt, which had led to him owing around £13,000.
It was claimed that Davies’ problems with insurance stemmed from his previous offence, when his insurance had only lapsed for four minutes when he was stopped.
“He is desperate to pass his test again and get back on the road legally,” he added.
Davies was given six penalty points, which resulted in a six month disqualification, and was ordered to pay a fine of £120 and costs totalling £115.
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