Man jailed for 14 months after forging letters and doctoring dash-cam footage to try and escape speeding fine

A man who forged letters and a parking ticket and doctored dash-cam footage in an attempt to escape a speeding fine has been jailed for 14 months.

Oscar Thompson, 61, was caught travelling at 83mph on the A331 at the Blackwater Valley relief road, which had a 70mph limit, on 19 August 2019.

When a letter was sent to the vehicle's elderly female owner, Thompson intercepted it and replied pretending to be her.

In the letter, he said she had been driving the vehicle that day, but had been in the Royal Surrey County Hospital.

The letter said the owner was 'dying of cancer' and 'because of my age I DO NOT drive on dual carriageways or motorways'.

Thompson, of The Green, Elstead, Surrey, then produced two pieces of dash-cam footage, claiming to support the suggestion the vehicle had been at the hospital on the day.

But roadworks seen in the footage proved it was false, as they were not present on the day of the speeding offence.

Winchester Crown Court heard Thompson also forged a letter addressed to the vehicle's owner, claiming to be for a hospital appointment on the day he claimed she was driving the vehicle in Guildford.

He also forged a car parking ticket for the same date.

Thompson pleaded guilty to speeding, driving without insurance, driving without a licence and perverting the course of justice.

Yesterday, he was sentenced to 14 months in prison and disqualified from driving for 12 months.

Speaking after the sentencing, PC Richard Jewell, from Hampshire Constabulary's Volume Fraud Investigation Team, said: “Instead of simply accepting he had been driving on 19 August 2019, Oscar Thompson's efforts to escape punishment have been simply ridiculous.

“Thompson not only felt it acceptable to drive while uninsured, without a licence, and over the speed limit, but he then failed to take responsibility for his actions.

“This investigation shows that such false claims are investigated and, where evidence is gathered, prosecution will follow.”