Shropshire soldier spared driving ban over insurance
Thursday 3rd June 2010, 11:00PM BST.
A Shropshire-based soldier who drove a car while uninsured has been spared a driving ban because magistrates accepted that lives could be put at risk in Afghanistan if he could not carry out his role behind the wheel.
Robert Lewis, 29, of Betton Crossings, Market Drayton, appeared before town magistrates yesterday and admitted driving without insurance. Ms Kerry Lovegrove, prosecuting, said it happened in Prospect Road, Market Drayton, on February 28. The court heard Lewis is a corporal with 1st Battalion the Royal Irish Regiment, based at Tern Hill, and is due to be deployed to Afghanistan in September.
He told the court losing his licence would cause hardship for others, including fellow soldiers, because he is one of the few troops in the regiment to have had special training to drive injured soldiers and ammunition supplies to and from the frontline. Under the totting up procedure, he faced losing his licence. Lewis said he was due to be in charge of 12 soldiers on deployment.
He said: “There’s nobody else with the same qualifications. If I drive in Afghanistan without a valid licence here and have a crash and someone gets injured or dies or an IED (improvised explosive device) goes off, the insurance back in the UK won’t cover it.”
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