Man allowed to keep licence after speeding in Flintshire

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6 hours ago

Gavin Harrop, of Bromfield Road, Stockport, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Friday for sentence.
The 35-year-old had previously admitted one offence of speeding, which took place on the A494 between garden City and Deeside Industrial Park Interchange on May 30 last year.
Prosecutor Brian Robinson told the court Harrop was clocked by average speed cameras on the day of the offence, and had been travelling at 57mph when the limit was 50.
The offence, which ordinarily carries three penalty points, put Harrop at risk of a driving ban.
Nigel James, defending, told the court: "He does send his sincere apologies to the court and is very embarrassed.
"He's a self employed UXO (unexploded ordnance) engineer and he travels up and down the country.
"He doesn't know where he's going until the end of the week preceding where he's working.
"We did discuss public transport and taxis, but in both cases its completely unfeasible.
"He has 60 kilos of bulky equipment and reliant on his licence to manage his role.
"He used to be in the navy for 10 years and has been doing this very niche role now for four years."
Mr James explained should his client face a six month driving ban, it would be difficult for him to find alternative work and there may also be difficulties in returning to his UXO work after such a gap.
"He is also involved with search and rescue," Mr James continued.
"He gets called upon for international incidents and is very much in demand for this particular area."
Given the potential impact of a driving ban, Harrop put forth an application of exceptional hardship in order to be able to keep his licence.
Responding to questions about his work on the witness stand, Harrop told the court his business works on and around building sites where digging and piling might turn up items of ordnance.
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He explained that should such an item be found in other settings, the Army bomb disposal squad would ordinarily be called.
The Magistrates handed down three penalty points for the offence of speeding - but accepted the defendant's application for exceptional hardship on the basis that his job affects other workers and he has hard-to-replace specialised skills, in addition to his search and rescue, charitable and volunteering roles.
As such, Harrop was not banned form driving, but was warned he must be careful not to find himself back in the dock for any other motoring offences as he cannot use the same reasons for such an application for the next three years.
He must pay a £500 fine, £200 victim surcharge and £130 costs.