Banned driver had false plates made from car he saw on Autotrader

Electrician Lewis Delicata was given a verbal dressing down by a Swindon district judge.

Ordering he complete 120 hours of unpaid work and banning him from the roads for six months, District Judge Joanna Dickens said: “It is a really serious offence.

“It appears that you take the view that there’s one law for Lewis Delicata and an entirely different rule for everyone else.

“When you are disqualified by the court that’s it; tough. You have to comply with it. What you did was really serious because that you have done is you have bought a vehicle deliberately. You’ve got some false plates and you have registered it deliberately in order to evade getting stopped by the police.”

Swindon Magistrates’ Court was told that 27-year-old Delicata had been caught in his Fiat Stilo by police in Hook, near Royal Wootton Bassett, on April 17 last year.

At the time he was disqualified from driving. The car was uninsured, did not have an MOT and was on false plates.

Delicata told officers he knew he was disqualified and did not have insurance. He had gone onto Autotrader and searched for similar vehicles to his own, copied down the registration plate of one car and ordered new plates online.

He had two previous convictions for fraudulently using a registration mark.

Delicata, of Hook, pleaded guilty to driving whilst disqualified, fraudulent use of a registration mark, driving while uninsured and no MOT.

Defending, Jeremy Griffiths said his client was a self-employed electrician. His problems stemmed from failures to be paid for his work: “He didn’t have the money to buy a proper car. It’s all stemmed from there.”

During the lockdown he had grown isolated from his family. He was extremely fearful of being sent to prison.

Delicata was given an 18 month community order with 120 hours of unpaid work. He must complete the thinking skills programme and 15 rehabilitation sessions. The district judge ordered he pay £180 in costs and surcharge.