Boss jailed for speed fine dodge

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A plumbing company boss who paid a man £500 to take the blame for a speeding ticket has been jailed for 60 days.

Steven Stewart was caught on a speed camera on the A9 in Stirlingshire travelling at 86mph in a 70 limit.

When the 38-year-old realised he could not be recognised, he arranged for someone else to claim they were driving the Range Rover.

He was jailed at Stirling Sheriff Court after admitting speeding and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Stewart, who faced a driving ban after he was caught speeding at Dunblane last March, met a man at a pub in Perth and paid him £500 plus £60 for the speeding fine to take the blame.

Police suspicions were aroused and the man confessed under interview.

'Knee-jerk reaction'

Sheriff Andrew Cubie told Stewart: "I am left with the impression that you see other people as either corruptible or stupid, and that you can buy your way out of difficulty.

"This wasn't a spontaneous, knee-jerk reaction to the possibility of losing your licence. It wasn't something done in a panic."

Stewart, described as the managing director of "one of Scotland's leading central heating firms", was fined £400 and disqualified for nine months for the speeding offence.

Defence solicitor Ken Dalling said Stewart was told of "a friend of a friend" who was prepared to take responsibility for the speeding ticket.

Mr Dalling added: "He is the rainmaker for his company, travelling thousands of miles a year to bring in business, and the carrot was too much for him."