Disqualified driver jailed for offences in Worthing

A disqualified driver has been jailed after he was stopped while driving in Worthing.

Roads Policing Unit (RPU) officers found Mitchell Wilton behind the wheel of a Citroen van on the A27 in Upper Brighton Road.

He was stopped because his vehicle showed him having no insurance, no valid MOT test, and Wilton was already disqualified.

It was later found that Wilton, aged 32, had falsified insurance documents to carry on driving, despite being stopped.

RPU PC Tom Van Der Wee said: “This shows disqualified drivers that while we may not be everywhere, our officers are regularly on patrol and are determined to catch offenders on our roads.”

At Brighton Magistrates’ Court on June 7, it was noted that he had shown a “flagrant disregard” for court orders.
Wilton, of Wickhurst Road, Portslade, was jailed for four months. He was ordered to pay £400 court costs and was disqualified for 20 months.

The court heard how he was stopped by RPU officers in a Citroen Relay van on June 13, 2022.

He had been disqualified from driving in court on January 13 the same year.
RPU officers noted the vehicle did not have a registered MOT test certificate since November 2021, and that Wilton’s licence was expired.

Wilton was charged with driving while disqualified, driving without valid insurance, and driving without a valid MOT test, and admitted these charges in court on June 7.

Officers later found the same vehicle abandoned in Bognor on January 21, 2023.

Checks showed there were two falsified insurance policies obtained by Wilton on June 13, 2022, before his first arrest, and again on July 14, 2022.

Wilton had obtained insurance without disclosing his criminal convictions and that he was in fact disqualified.

Previously, at Worthing Magistrates’ Court on October 31, 2023, Wilton admitted two counts of making a false statement to obtain insurance.

On that occasion he was sentenced to complete 120 hours of unpaid work.

Speaking after the case PC Van Der Wee added: “Disqualified and uninsured drivers pose a risk to all lawful road users, helping to drive up insurance premiums.

“Wilton showed no care for court orders despite already being disqualified, and later failed to disclose this to an insurance company to take out two false policies.

“We are pleased that a potential danger to other road users has both been taken off our roads and now off our streets.”