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Fine for motorist who drove dad's van in snow

No insurance results in four penalty points

A Union Mills man has been fined after a crash during heavy snow revealed he wasn't insured to drive his father's van.

Thirty-five-year-old Mark Peter Richards, of Snugborough Avenue, appeared at Douglas Courthouse.

He admitted having no insurance on 13 February.

Prosecution advocate Rachael Braidwood told the court Richards had been given permission to borrow the VW Caddy and was driving it in Ramsey.

As heavy snow fell that day he was forced to brake suddenly, on Waterloo Road, sliding into a vehicle in front of him.

As investigations were carried out into the incident officers discovered the insurance policy Richards was using only covered him to drive private vehicles.

That meant he hadn't been insured to drive the van as it was classed as a commercial vehicle by insurers.

Magistrates fined him £300 and ordered him to pay £50 towards prosecution costs.

They also imposed four points on his driving licence.

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