VOLUNTEER Shadi Albshara was spared a driving ban after magistrates heard of his work with Syrian refugees in Wiltshire.

The 37-year-old of Willows Avenue admitted using a car on the road without insurance when he appeared before the Swindon bench on Friday. Because he already had six points on his licence, it meant a ban under the totting up procedure.

But he was told he was only keeping his driving licence because he translated for refugees and drove them to appointments all over Wiltshire.

Prosecutor Nick Barr said his Fiat Seicento was seen in Canal Road and a police check showed it was uninsured while the Motor Insurance Bureau said the car was not on its system.

Albshara told the court his had not known his insurance had been cancelled until the day after he was stopped in December last year, even though he had phoned his insurers and given them his new address.

Until then he had been living with his brother.

“I only found out when I checked my payment, they have not sent me any letters to my new address,” he said.

A payment of £550 had been taken from his bank account a few days before. “I thought I was giving them the money for insurance.”

He accepted a previous insurance policy had been cancelled in August because of non-payment of instalments and that he set up a new policy for the same car in October.

Albshara also agreed the insurers had emailed him in November to say that there were problems with the account for the same reason.

But he insisted he believed the £550 payment was to bring the instalments back into order. It wasn’t until his brother returned from holiday some days after the police stopped him and gave him letters from the insurance company that he realised what had happened.

The Wiltshire Council employee said: “I cannot afford to lose my licence for my job.”

As well as helping with his brother’s takeaway business in Trowbridge, he also volunteered with a programme helping Syrian refugees. He translated, helped with socialisation and took them to appointments in towns as far apart as Salisbury and Chippenham.

Chairman of the bench Amanda Lee said they accepted losing his licence would cause exceptional hardship because of his voluntary work.

Instead the bench fined him £300, imposed six points and ordered him to pay court costs of £85 with a £30 victim surcharge.