Driver in court five years after offence at Shropshire petrol station
A man who drove off from a Shropshire petrol station without paying for fuel has finally had his day in court – after a gap of five years.
John Walsh put fuel worth £20.01 into his car at the Robinson & Young garage in Wem on April 27, 2010.
But he then went into the garage and told staff he had no money, said Mrs Katie Price, prosecuting at Telford Magistrates Court.
Walsh, now 48, had filled out a form but left "false details" and then "disappeared for five years", said Mrs Price.
He was later arrested and bailed to attend court on July 28, 2010 but never appeared, magistrates were told.
He finally returned to court on Friday where he admitted two charges – one of making off without payment and one of failing to surrender to bail.
He was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay compensation for the £20.01 of petrol that he took.
He was also ordered by the magistrates to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Mr Oliver Nicholas, for Walsh, said the five-year delay was "not reflective of somebody evading the police".
He said that Walsh, of Brookside Road, Watford, had not been in contact with officers during the five-year period and had forgotten about the charge.
The defendant had been involved in "a severe accident" three years before the offence, which had left him with memory difficulties, Mr Nicholas added.
However Mr Nicholas said Walsh accepted that he would have had a piece of paper to jog his memory about the offence and the court proceedings.
On the day that the offence took place Walsh had filled in the correct details on the form, but he had subsequently moved to Watford, the court was told.
"It's fair to say that he knew he should have returned," said Mr Nicholas.
"At the back of his mind he should have been aware that this was in the background," he added.
Sarah Colson, general manager of the Robinsons & Young Garage, in Shrewsbury Road, said today that people who drove off without paying for their fuel had quite often made an honest mistake.
"It's people having a chat on the forecourt with someone who've just driven off and forgotten," she said.
If members of staff recognised the driver they preferred to ring with a friendly reminder, she added, but otherwise the police would be informed as all vehicles are logged on CCTV and their number plates are photographed on the forecourt.
"Every so often you do get someone who just fills up and goes," she added.
"They will be tracked down."
