'Worst driver' escapes jail term

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/northern_ireland/7024109.stm

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A pensioner caught driving while disqualified for the 48th time has been given a suspended sentence.

Raymond Paul, 67, of Heath Lodge Square in Belfast's Shankill area, was caught driving a car to his home in June.

Belfast Crown Court Judge Des Marrinan said it was the "worst driving record" he had ever seen, and suspended a 12-month term for two years.

The court was told Paul had a 30-page record spanning 56 years, with his first driving ban imposed in 1958.

A Crown lawyer said there were 211 road traffic and driving licence violations and in 1990, he was disqualified from driving for 25 years.

Paul's solicitor said he was a "classic recidivist" who might be better dealt with by having a sentence "hanging over his head" given that he had been in jail since the date of the offence.

Judge Marrinan said that two years ago, another judge had called for the maximum term for driving while disqualified to be increased from one to two years but it appeared nothing had been done, commenting that the inaction was "astonishing".

"Although it's a matter for the assembly, it appears to me that Judge Hart's wise words should be heeded by those in authority," the judge said.

Paul was also fined £100 for no insurance and banned for another 10 years.