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Plates gave impression vehicle did not need to be taxed in the UK
Page 33
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A MAIDSTONE operator whose vehicle displayed Dutch-style registration plates has been ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £1,000.
Jason Raymond Bunce, of Church Lane, Maidstone, pleaded not guilty to the fraudulent use of a vehicle registration mark when he appeared before Harlow magistrates. He was found guilty.
Anthony Ostrin, prosecuting for VOSA, said Bunce's left-hand-drive vehicle had been checked by traffic examiners who noticed that its registration plates resembled those used in the Netherlands.
Traffic examiner Jeremiah Gleeson told the court that these plates initially led him to believe this was a Dutch vehicle.
Traffic examiner Peter Ironmonger said the plates were yellow at the front as well as at the rear and had dashes between the letters and numbers:The vehicle was left-hand drive so he, too, assumed it was foreign. He also noticed that the vehicle was not taxed. He believed the foreign plates were fitted to give the impression that the vehicle did not need to be taxed in the UK — and that when the vehicle was in the Netherlands it would display the same number in British format.
Bunce told the court that in his opinion he could use any format of number plate he chose, but he had not intended to deceive anyone.
The magistrates fined Bunce £700 with £300 costs.