4:40pm Wednesday 17th March 2010
By Tristan Kirk
TWO drivers from the borough who tried to cheat their way out of a speeding ticket have been sentenced.
Martin Tapping, 35, and Craig Taylor, 30, were convicted of perverting the course of justice after enlisting the help of Simon Weston-Brown to help them avoid paying the fine.
Weston-Brown, 36, from Abbots Langley, ran a scam falsifying Notices of Intended Prosecution, made out in fictitious names, to try to dupe the authorities out of claiming the fines.
He was jailed for 15 months at St Albans Crown Court for masterminding the scam, and he was also banned from driving for 15 months.
Tapping, of Southbourne Avenue, Colindale, was given a month jail term suspended for 18 months, fined £300, and also ordered to do 80 hours community service.
Taylor, of Maple Gardens, Edgware, was given a month in prison suspended for 18 months, fined £500, and ordered to do 80 hours community service.
Three other people, Peter Crossley, 47, from Borehamwood, Colette Maciejewska, 22, from Middlesex, and Leah Davidson, 54, of Tintagel Drive, Stanmore, were handed the same sentence for trying to dodge the fine.
Robert Sproat, 56, from Borehamwood, was given a six week suspended sentence, fined £500, and given 80 hours community service.
The scam was exposed after a joint operation between Herts Police, Hertfordshire County Council, and the Highways Agency.
Chief Inspector Donna Pierce said after sentencing: “There is simply no excuse for speeding, and those that try to avoid facing up to the penalties can rest assured that they will be made to face the consequences of their actions.”
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