A father-to-be who paid someone £150 to take the rap for him after he was caught speeding on the M65 has been jailed.

Abdul Habib, of Grindleton Road in Blackburn, was clocked travelling along the M65 at 103mph – 33mph over the legal limit - in November 2020.

At Preston Crown Court on Thursday, Beth Pilling, prosecuting, said Habib, who had just turned 21 at the time, had been told about a man in Oldham who was, for a cash fee, offering to provide a false address to help people avoid penalty points and fines.

Admitting at the first opportunity to perverting the course of justice, it was heard that Habib provided false information on a prosecution form sent to his address, and returned the documents to police, nominating a Raheem Khan of Kelverlow Street in Oldham, as the person who was driving the vehicle at the time.

Lancashire Telegraph:

Habib, whose wife is due to give birth to their first child in a matter of weeks, informed the police during interview that he had obtained Mr Khan’s details from a man called Aamir Iqbal, who was carrying out repairs on his vehicle on November 10 2020.

Miss Pilling said: "The defendant was caught at 103mph on the M65 and following on from that a notice of prosecution form was sent to his house.

"A response to that form was given to police in which Habib named a Raheem Khan in Oldham as the driver.

"The form was returned, but no response was received from the named man.

"The address in Oldham, it was discovered, had been used several times for nominations, so the police went back and spoke to the defendant, who admitted to driving the car earlier that day but said he'd dropped it off at Kwik Fit for some repairs.

"He also mentioned to police that the mechanic at Kwik Fit told him a customer had picked up his car by mistake, so it must have been the customer who was driving it when it was caught speeding. 

"However, on speaking with the mechanic, police found Habib's story was a lie and the car was never picked up by another customer.

"The police then went back to the defendant who then confessed to lying, but did not say he was driving the car.

"He had three points on his licence already and he wanted to avoid any more penalty points."

Habib, who has no previous convictions save for a drugs caution in 2021, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice, a crime which usually carries an automatic prison sentence. 

Now 22, he claimed he had personally completed the details on the section 172 prosecution notice in order to avoid receiving penalty points on his licence.

Defending, Rosalind Emsley-Smith said her client had been told he, "didn't need to worry about the fine and points" if he paid Khan £150, and it "would be taken care of". 

She said: "This defendant is one of four of his friends before the courts for this kind of offence.

"The man from Oldham visits the locality in a Range Rover, telling young boys, 'don't worry about it, for £150 I can make it all go away'.

"He was initially naive and believed what the man said and didn't appreciate the seriousness of the actions he was taking and can be viewed as a victim of fraud himself."

Sentencing Habib, Judge Simon Medland QC said: "There are some very dishonest people around who are doing this and pocketing money.

"These offences where people avoid speeding tickets, and seek to buy their way out of trouble are prevalent in this area and I am sure elsewhere too.

"But I am also sure that these offences will stop when people realise they will go to prison for committing them."

Habib, who began crying in the dock, was sentenced to 80 days in prison.