TWO men have been spared immediate prison sentences for perverting the course of justice in a case involving jumping a red light and driving on the pavement in Bradford. 

Mohammed Usman contacted Jawaad Ali when he received Notices of Intended Prosecution that would have disqualified him under the ‘totting up’ provision, Bradford Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Nicola Hoskins said Usman, 22, of Gain Lane, Fagley, Bradford, got in touch with Ali, 26, of Fairbank Terrace, Girlington, Bradford, and asked him for help. 

The court heard that Usman was seeking to avoid penalty points and paid Ali £300 to sort things out. 

Usman had been filmed by a member of the public running a red light at the junction of Cemetery Road and Thornton Road in Bradford on May 24, 2021. The other driver uploaded the footage to the police and Usman was found to be the registered keeper of the vehicle. 

The next month, he was caught on CCTV driving on the pavement in City Road, Bradford, to avoid traffic. 

Miss Hoskins said he received a notice for careless driving and in both cases Ali provided a name and address from Oldham. 

Police investigating the case saw that the same dishonest details had been used more than 200 times. 

Usman was arrested and his phone seized. He asked Ali for his money back and it was returned. 

Both defendants pleaded guilty to intending to pervert the course of justice on June 6, 2021.  

Abdul Shakoor said in mitigation for Usman that he had assisted the prosecution and pleaded guilty at an early stage. He was 20 at the start of the offending with no previous convictions. 

He was at a low risk of reoffending and had kept out of trouble since. 

He was gainfully employed as a law-abiding citizen, Mr Shakoor said. 

In mitigation for Ali, it was stated that he had no previous convictions and had also pleaded guilty, although not until the day of his trial. 

He was working and would lose his employment if sent to prison. He had a stable and supportive family life.  

Judge Jonathan Gibson said the case arose out of two notices to identify the driver of a vehicle for going through a red light and driving on the pavement.  

Usman didn’t want to ‘tot’ on penalty points and be disqualified so he contacted Ali who was the middle man for a ‘fixer’. 

The offending struck at the heart of the criminal justice system and took up police resources. But both men were remorseful and considered to be at a low risk of reoffending. 

Ali was sentenced to 16 weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, with an electronically monitored curfew. 

Usman was sentenced to four weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was banned from driving for six months. 

Ali was ordered to pay £1,200 costs and Usman £300 costs.