News

Homeless man living in car is banned from driving

By Stephen Lloyd
July 27, 2010

A HOMELESS man currently living in his car has been banned from driving for six months.

Michael Reid was given the ban after he admitted driving without insurance and making off without paying for petrol.

Ghislaine Watson-Hopkinson, prosecuting at Aldershot Magistrates' Court last Thursday (July 22), said police stopped the 42-year-old in a Ford Focus in Victoria Road, Aldershot, on July 14 after he was seen reversing the wrong way up a one-way street.

Police checks revealed the registered owner of the vehicle was Reid's mother and that she was the only person insured to drive it.

Reid claimed he did have motor insurance, but it was for another car.

Police then received information that the defendant had failed to pay for £40 of petrol at the Green Park filling station on the A325 at Farnborough on May 15.

Reid, who used to live in Farnham but has been sleeping in his car in Elm Place, Aldershot, was interviewed and admitted driving without insurance.

Asked why he had not paid for the petrol, he said he must have had something on his mind and had forgotten but later agreed he had no intention of paying.

The court was told that Reid already has three points on his licence for speeding in August 2008, three points for failing to comply with traffic lights in April 2008 and a no insurance conviction in 2006.

Representing himself, the defendant told magistrates: "I hold my hands up completely. It was me and I’m sorry for wasting the court’s time.

"I’ve been made bankrupt, I’ve recently lost my house and I can’t see my kids.

"I’ve been through a lot. I’ve slightly come off the rails and need to get myself back on track.

"I’m currently unemployed and at the moment I’m living in my car."

Reid, who has three children who live in Farnham, said that at the time of the latest offences he was working as a courier and was the sole means of transport for his mother and disabled father.

Court chairman John Quinn fined him £30 for making off without payment and ordered him to pay £40 compensation.

For driving without insurance he fined him £80 and ordered him to pay £15 towards a fund for the victims of crime.

Reid was also given six penalty points for driving without insurance, making him a ‘totter’ and meaning he is banned from driving for six months.

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I hope the HOMELESS man applies to get help through the 'FARNBOROUGH FOODBANK'. It is there to fight poverty at its point of need.

St Christopher's Church 55 Cove Road Farnborough Hants GU14 OEX

07954105279 (m) 01252 673820 farn.foodbk@hotmail.com

RJB2309, Farnborough
29/07/2010 at 14:57

Bill39 - how would you feel if an uninsured driver wrote off your car and you could not afford to replace it; maybe your own ability to get to work and earn a living might be affected. Maybe you might lose your job as a result. What if an uninsured driver ran over and injured - or killed - the main breadwinner in your household? Where would that leave the remaining family? Uninsured drivers need to be dealt with severely because of the possible consequences of an accident. Driving without insurance like this is a totally selfish act.

This is unfortunate for the individual and I do feel for him, but we are all responsible for our own actions and have to be personally accountable.

pjt
28/07/2010 at 11:37

Given his cicumstances, what an idiot for reversing illegally in a one-way street. No insurance, thieving petrol and still the correspondent 'Bill39' thinks he's been hard done by! I'd guess you've been banned lately Bill?

Its Douglas
27/07/2010 at 23:20

This is where it all goes wrong. I'm not condoning the crimes of stealing or having no car insurance , its the sentencing. By giving this man penalty points resulting in a ban means he now has no means of continuing work as a courier so eventually he' going to be back in court again to be fined for non payment of fines, ridiculous. The courts should be more realistic in their sentencing.