Man caught driving his Porsche home the same day the court banned him from the road
A man who drove home from a court that had just banned him from driving has been sentenced again.
Matthew Testa, 51, from Whalley, Lancashire, was disqualified from driving for six months, during a hearing at Harrogate Magistrates Court on December 18, 2024.
Testa was warned by the court not to drive from that moment onwards.
However, a North Yorkshire Police prosecutor at court suspected he would get back behind the wheel, and passed details of his immediate disqualification to the force’s Roads Policing Group officers on patrol in the area.
At about 11.35am, the same day, Traffic Sergeant Pete Stringer and Traffic Constable Laura Elvidge spotted Testa driving his Porsche car on the A59 at Skipton.
Testa was stopped, and later charged with driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance or an MOT.
The 51-year-old pleaded guilty, and at Sheffield Magistrates Court on Friday (May 2), he was given a ten-week custodial sentence, suspended for 12 months.
He was also fined £1,254, and disqualified from driving for 58 weeks.
North Yorkshire Police prosecutor Catherine Coady said: “Testa knew he had been disqualified from driving – but within minutes he was back behind the wheel.
“He showed a total disregard for the court, and as a direct result of his actions, he now faces a far longer driving ban.”