A MOTORIST who dishonestly claimed his vehicle had been cloned after it had been caught speeding has received a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, for perverting the course of justice.

David Alan Blannin, age 60 of St Athan, Barry, was issued a notice of intended prosecution after his vehicle was caught doing 69mph in a 50 zone on the A40 between Monmouth and Ross in April 2025.

A West Mercia Roads policing spokesperson said: "Instead of identifying the driver as required by law, he falsely claimed someone had cloned his vehicle and supplied images as evidence with the intent to deceive officers.

"Following a full investigation, the case was heard at Worcester Crown Court last week, where Mr Blannin was convicted of intent to pervert the course of justice and ordered to pay £1,000 in costs and a £187 victim surcharge, in addition to the suspended sentence, 200 hours unpaid work and a disqualification from driving for two years."

"Motorists are reminded that attempting to evade responsibility for speeding offences is a serious crime.

"Perverting the course of justice can include:

• Claiming a vehicle is not yours

• Falsely naming another driver

• Falsely naming someone who lives abroad or does not exist

• Providing false addresses

• Paying someone to “dispose” of an offence

• Altering a vehicle’s appearance and claiming it has been cloned

"West Mercia Police has a dedicated team that investigates all motoring related correspondence and uses extensive police and commercial databases to identify false claims, which are dealt with robustly through the courts."