8:02 am, November 11, 2023
A used car dealer has narrowly avoided jail after he admitted to driving with drugs in his system while having no licence or insurance.
Liam Clayton-Ford made his living selling second-hand vehicles to customers in Newport – despite ‘not feeling confident enough’ to sit his own driving test.
The 23-year-old was stopped by police in Cardigan, South Wales in November of last year, when after police spotted his car had a flat tyre.
He admitted to officers at the roadside that he did not have a full drivers licence or insurance and a routine drugs swab tested positive for cannabis.
Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court heard earlier this week that he then refused to engage in further testing at the police station due to a ‘fear of needles’.
He later failed to show up for a court hearing at Merthyr Magistrates’ Court, the Tivyside Advertiser reports.
Then, on July 26, the Newport native was stopped again by police, who found he still did not have insurance or a driving licence.
Police also discovered 0.57 grams of cannabis on his person and a breathalyzer test showed he had 88mcg of alcohol in his system – well above the legal limit of 35.
Speaking at court this week, his lawyer, Mike Kelleher, said: ‘He’s very remorseful and feels that he’s been stupid.
‘He’s never felt confident to complete his driving test but is still making an income from buying and selling cars.
‘He acknowledges that he became complacent because he had got away with it in the past.’
Clayton-Ford pleaded guilty to two counts of driving without insurance, two counts of driving with no driving licence, failing to provide blood samples, possession of cannabis, driving over the drink-drive limit. He also admitted failing to attend the previous court hearing.
After hearing all the evidence, magistrates handed him a 12 week prison term, suspended for 18 months, and ordered him to carry out 15 rehabilitation requirement days and 115 hours of unpaid work.
In a blow to his second-hand car business, he was also disqualified from driving for 36 months and ordered to pay £170 court costs, as well as a £154 surcharge.
Finally, the court ordered that the cannabis found in his possession by police be destroyed.
