Banned Sheffield driver caught behind the wheel of a BMW on motorway is jailed

Sheffield Crown Court heard on March 4 how Tobias Swindells, aged 28, of Manor Park Road, Manor Park, Sheffield, was seen driving a BMW on the M621 motorway in Leeds by police and was stopped on Valley Farm Road.

Giles Bridge, prosecuting, said Swindells had already been given a suspended prison sentence in July, 2021, for dangerous driving following a police pursuit and he was banned from driving for 18 months when police caught him driving in Leeds in December.

Mr Bridge said: “He was in Leeds and he lives in Sheffield so it was a distance away.”

Swindells told police he had borrowed the vehicle from a friend.

The defendant, who has previous convictions including driving offences, pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance, and he admitted breaching a suspended prison sentence.

Dermot Hughes, defending, said the offence happened when Swindells was struggling with the third anniversary of his father’s death.

Mr Hughes added: “He drove from Sheffield to Leeds to be with a friend at a time when he was emotionally very troubled and he did not want to put his burden on others.”

Swindells’ “dearest wish” is to become a legal driver, according to Mr Hughes, because the defendant is a mechanic and the longer he remains banned from driving the less attractive he becomes as a prospective employee.

Judge Peter Kelson QC sentenced Swindells to six months of custody and disqualified him from driving for 24 months.