Driver who failed to pay £1000 of fines avoids jail term

A FINES ‘refusenik’ who failed to pay more than £1000 worth of penalties has avoided a jail sentence.

James Crawford had paid just £190 at a paltry rate of £10 a fortnight over two and a half years towards the £1320 that he owed.

But the 26-year-old’s day of reckoning arrived yesterday when he appeared for sentence for motoring offences.

He was hit with an even bigger fine, his repayment rate was increased seven-fold and he was warned that, if he misses one instalment, he will go straight to prison.

Crawford, of Greenrigg, West Lothian, earlier pleaded guilty to driving while banned and without insurance in Whitburn on September 20, 2011.

He was fined £1200 and banned from driving for 27 months at Livingston Sheriff Court.