A TEENAGER has been spared six points on his driving licence for not having insurance after a court heard he had been misled and was the victim of fraud.

Thomas Stokes was pulled over by police just after 6.30pm on the A3102 in Royal Wootton Bassett in February after his Ford Focus set off an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera.

When officers questioned the 19-year-old he told them he was insured and gave them the number of the insurance broker he had paid £650 for six months’ insurance.

Police called the number and were given a reference number but they could still not find any trace of the vehicle being insured so Stokes was given a fixed penalty notice and his car was seized.

When he came before magistrates sitting in Swindon this week he pleaded guilty to the offence but told how he had been conned by the supposed insurance broker.

He said the person was recommended to him by a friend and he went ahead with the deal in good faith.

“All I know is his name is Eamon and he had a thick Liverpool accent,” Stokes said.

“I bought the car but couldn’t pay the insurance for it as it was going to cost thousands. I paid him £650 cash for six months' insurance. I kept ringing him up and he told me he was sending the details but they never came.

“I now know he’s done it to other people and other people has been in the same situation as me. At the time I thought he was legit.

The court also heard how the points on Stokes' licence could jeopardise his business as a painter, decorator and roofer and asked magistrates to take sympathy on him.

Addressing Stokes, of High Street, Sutton Benger, bench chairman Sally Matthews said: “You’ve pleaded guilty to an offence of no insurance.

“On the balance of probabilities we believe that you believed you were insured.”

She decided not to give Stokes points on his licence. He was ordered to pay £95 in court costs.