A motorist who lied to police and claimed he was not driving a car found crashed in a beck and damaged has been sent to prison.
Paul Shepherd’s Ford Focus left the road at a bridge in Allonby, at 1am on September 1, 2019.
Shepherd, 38, reported the car stolen to police later that morning, and in the afternoon made a statement in which he insisted he was not driving at the time of the collision.
Carlisle Crown Court heard today Shepherd initially expressed “astonishment” when it was suggested by police he was the driver.
But his denials were unpicked after swabs were taken from a deployed airbag in the car of a material later found to be blood. A forensic scientist concluded there was a “billion to one” chance the blood was not Shepherd’s, and “strong evidence” it was directly contributed by him to the airbag at the time of the crash.
He admitted one charge of doing acts tending and intended to pervert the course of public justice in court today.
His lawyer told Judge Nicholas Barker that Shepherd drove that night to clear his head following his split from a long-term partner, and the revelation she had begun a relationship with his former next-door neighbour. He recalled being distracted by his phone, failed to navigate a sharp turn and the car ended up in the beck.
Passing sentence, Judge Barker jailed Shepherd, of Hartfield Close, Whitehaven, for seven months.
“When lies are told to the police or courts for the purpose of avoiding responsibility, the courts take it very seriously because it goes to the very heart of the justice system and it is always a serious matter,” said the judge. “Those that tell lies to the police in order to avoid detection in cases such as this must expect to receive immediate custodial sentences.”
