A DRIVER who crashed his car and then lied to police, telling them it had been stolen during a burglary, has been convicted of wasting police time.

Rowan Maidment-Eve admitted a string of motoring offences and misleading police following a crash at a traffic island near Worcester hospital.

The 21-year-old of Lahn Drive, Droitwich, admitted driving the silver Renault Clio without due care and attention and failing to report an accident after he crashed into a lamppost on the A4440 in Worcester on June 14 last year.

He further admitted causing wasteful employment of police by knowingly making a false report to West Mercia Police between June 15 and June 17 last year.

Kerry Lovegrove, prosecuting, said the defendant called the police non-emergency number 101 after the accident to report that the car had been stolen.

“He went on to say he was sorry about making an allegation of burglary” said Miss Lovegrove.

Maidment-Eve told officers he had been driving at around 3am and slid into a kerb and then the lamppost. There had been two passengers in the car but neither of them was hurt.

He had been driving at around 30mph at the time of the collision. He had reported it as a burglary because he ‘panicked and didn’t know what to do’ said Miss Lovegrove.

She added: “He later he said he was embarrassed about everything that had happened.”

Maidment-Eve had no previous convictions.

Mark Sheward, defending, said Maidment-Eve had pleaded guilty at an early opportunity to all matters and asked that magistrates give him credit for that.

Maidment-Eve had been designated driver for that evening because he ‘rarely drinks’ said Mr Sheward.

He said his client had accepted that he had been driving ‘perhaps faster than conditions should have allowed’ (it had been raining).

“He slid and made contact with the lamppost and thereafter made all the wrong decisions” said Mr Sheward.

Although Maidment-Eve was not breathalysed at the scene, Mr Sheward said his client ‘doesn’t drink or use drugs’.

“He realised the error of his ways, told them (police) ‘I made this up and I’m really sorry’. He was very apologetic and pleaded guilty at the first time of asking today,” said the Worcester solicitor.

Maidment-Eve was fined £40 for driving without due care, £80 for failing to report the accident and £70 for wasting police time.

His licence was endorsed with five penalty points and he was ordered to pay costs of £132 and a victim surcharge of £32. There were already six points on his licence at the time of the crash so he now has 11 points on his licence. If he had a total of 12 points on his licence he would have been eligible for a ban.