TWO cousins who lied to the police to try to avoid penalties for speeding offences were sentenced at Bradford Crown Court today.

Haseeb Hussain, 20, of Leeds Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, was locked up for three months in a young offender institution and banned from driving for seven and a half months.

Zahra Jabeen, 23, of Bradford Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford, was sentenced to three months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and banned from driving for six months. She must do 100 hours of unpaid work and attend 15 rehabilitation activity days with the probation service.

Judge Peter Armstrong said she was led into the offending by Hussain and there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

Both pleaded guilty to intending to pervert the course of public justice by providing false details in response to Notices of Intended Prosecution in July last year.

Prosecutor Paul Canfield said Hussain was clocked doing 56mph in a 30 zone on Leeds Ring Road at 2.36am on June 25, 2021.

He submitted false information, nominating a wholly innocent woman as the driver and giving her date of birth and an email address and phone number.

Jabeen activated a speed camera on Thornton Road, Bradford, at 11pm on June 28 last year.

Mr Canfield said she was at the wheel of a VW Golf and doing 43mph in a 30 limit.

She nominated the same woman as the driver, providing the police with false information on the Notice of Intended Prosecution.

Hussain’s speed was too high for him to be offered a speed awareness course and a summons was being prepared.

The woman then told the police neither offence was anything to do with her.

The cousins made no comment when they were interviewed by the police but went on to admit the offences.

Abdul Shakoor, Jabeen’s barrister, said it was ‘a monumentally stupid’ error of judgement from a young woman with no previous convictions.

No actual person was caused harm because the police detected the fraud quickly.

Jabeen ran a health and beauty business and had worked hard to build up a client base. She was very remorseful and understood the seriousness of the offence.

Lydia Pearce, for Hussain, said he acted out of naivety. He was 19 at the time and of previous good character.

He had worked as a courier before finding new employment. He had a stable home life and was at a low risk of reoffending.

Judge Armstrong said Hussain started the offending by obtaining the woman’s details and sending the form back. It was only by good fortune that she wasn’t summonsed.

He then passed on the details to Jabeen who had also been caught speeding and she extremely foolishly went along with it.

It was a very serious offence that warranted custodial sentences to deter others from doing the same thing.