Plymouth motorist faked CCTV footage to dodge speeding ticket, court hears

A MOTORIST who faked CCTV footage of his car to dodge a speeding rap has avoided an immediate jail term.

Roger Moore filmed his own vehicle on his driveway months after his garage courtesy car was snapped by a safety camera, Plymouth Crown Court was told.

The 44-year-old delivery driver claimed the footage showed his own car at his home in Stentaway Road, Plymstock, just before the suspected offence in February 2011.

Father-of-three Moore said the film showed that he could not have been at the wheel of the courtesy car – because he had already picked up his own vehicle.

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But he was caught out because the length of the shadows showed Moore's footage could only have been filmed in the summer, the court heard.

Moore admitted acting with intent to pervert the course of justice between July 2011 and January last year.

Judge Paul Darlow told him: "You went to extraordinary lengths to try and lie and cheat your way out of a speeding conviction."

The Herald exclusively revealed the amazing story in November last year.

Moore was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must pay £2,000 in prosecution costs.

David Gittins, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said a Peugeot 107 was caught by a speed camera in Billacombe Road, Plymstock, on the morning of February 22, 2011.

It was going 51mph in a 40mph zone.

He said police traced it to a nearby garage, which in turn said Moore had the courtesy car at the time because his own Mitsubishi Pajero was being repaired.

Mr Gittins was sent a notice of intended prosecution, but claimed that the garage had falsified its records to show he still had the Peugeot at the time.

He added the case was about to go to trial before magistrates when Moore produced footage from his own CCTV system showing the Pajero on his drive about an hour before the offence.

Mr Gittins said police were suspicious and an expert found that the date and time on the footage could well have been altered.

He added that the length of the shadows in the pictures was too short because the sun was not so high at that time of year – so it must have been filmed in the summer.

Mr Gittins said case officer PC David Williams went back to the house in February 2012, the same time of the year as the offence, to compare the length of the shadows.

He added that Moore stuck to his story even when confronted with the evidence, claiming someone at the garage must have been trying to put the blame on him because he had complained about their repairs in the past.

Ali Rafati, for Moore, said he was a hard-working man with no previous convictions and wanted to support his family.

He added he had stupidly told a lie which had "snowballed".

Mr Rafati said an immediate jail term may cost him his job as a delivery driver.

Judge Darlow told Moore he could start to raise money to pay the costs by selling his personalised number plate.

Natalie Hatswell, spokeswoman for the Peninsula Road Safety Partnership, which runs the camera network, said after the hearing: "I think Roger Moore can consider himself extremely fortunate not to be spending tonight in prison.

"I hope this shows that it is just not worth avoiding the normal prosecution process."