Banned driver jailed after being caught with fake driving licence in uninsured car in Leeds

Aurel Cucernica was locked up for six months after a judge heard how he had used the fake document to drive around the city for two years.

During that time the 24-year-old defendant had made five court appearances for motoring offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard West Yorkshire Police officers saw Cucernica driving a Mitsubishi car on Strathmore Drive, Harehills, on December 17 last year.

A vehicle check revealed that the car had a registration plate that was insured to a moped.

The officers stopped the vehicle and spoke to the defendant who claimed he was insured to drive it.

The defendant then handed over what appeared to be a Spanish driving licence.

The officers made checks which showed that Cucernica had been banned from driving since November 27, 2020.

They also noticed that the licence appeared to be fake.

Cucernica was taken to a police station and the licence was checked by the document fraud unit.

The licence contained false details and the laminating and design were incorrect.

The defendant refused to comment during an interview.

The court heard Cucernica, of Berkeley View, Harehills, had been banned from driving under "totting up" laws for driving without insurance.

He pleaded guilty to possession of an identity document with improper intent.

Ian Hudson, mitigating, said Cucernica is a Romanian national who entered the UK legally three years ago.

Mr Hudson said his client lived with his partner and two children and earned £350 a week as a warehouse worker.

Cucernica was jailed for six months.

Judge Rodney Jameson QC said: "You have a number of convictions in this country for driving offences between August 2018 and November 2020.

"It must be the case that you never had a valid licence on any single one of these occasions.

"You have simply used and misused a fraudulent document to drive consistently over two years through five court appearances."

Cucernica was also banned from driving for 15 months.