Crash driver jailed for telling wife in Punjabi to lie to police, Leeds Crown Court told

Officers had footage from their body-worn cameras translated after Zahir Hussain pleaded with his passenger to tell officers he had not been driving while he was being led away.

The 48-year-old eventually admitted a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice, but only after he denied the offence, then tried to get the case dismissed before attempting to blame his son, claiming it he who was driving.

Prosecuting the case at Leeds Crown Court, Bashir Ahmed said that Hussain’s Ford Capri collided with a garden wall and parked cars on Church Street in Ossett, Wakefield, at around 10.35pm on October 2 last year.

He then drove off again and almost collided with a police van head on.

They turned to follow him and found the car a short distance away with Hussain crouched beside it and his estranged wife still sat in the passenger seat.

He failed a breath test and was arrested.

He then began shouting to his wife in the hope the officers would not be able to understand him.

When he reached the police station he refused to take another test to determine exactly how much he had drunk.

He then “gave a false account” during his interview, Mr Ahmed said, reiterating he was not the driver.

Hussain, of Picklesfield, Batley, has four previous convictions for six offences.

Mitigating, Nicholas Hammond said Hussain had come to court “prepared for immediate custody” after accepting that he was the driver.

The judge, Recorder Ray Singh, told him: “You were clearly driving after you had consumed too much alcohol. You said you ‘had a few whiskies’.

"On at least four occasions you put your wife in a position of jeopardy by asking her to lie on your behalf.

"Only the due diligence of officers that had the footage translated that showed the deceit.

“It was a concerted effort and you blamed you own son for this offence.

"Anyone who perverts the course of justice attracts an immediate custodial sentence, and nothing I have heard allows me to depart from that.”

He jailed Hussain for 21 weeks.