Bentley owner beats driving ban by telling Northamptonshire magistrates he needs to walk his dogs

Magistrates let a man off with a £150,000 Bentley escape a driving ban so he can take his dogs for a walk.

Howard David McGill, aged 50, was charged with failing to identify who was driving the Bentley Continental GT when it was clocked by speed cameras doing 69 mph in a 60 mph limit on the M1 near Northampton in January last year.

Points from the conviction would have meant instant disqualification under the totting up procedure.

But court documents showed McGill begged magistrates not to take his licence away because “It would impact on his mental health and he would not be able to walk his dogs as the nearest park is one mile away.”

Instead, he was fined £120 and ordered to pay £119 in prosecution costs and a surcharge to fund victim services.

McGill, of Meadowcroft Road, North London, was alleged to have failed to answer a notice of intended prosecution sent by Northamptonshire Police after his Bentley was flashed heading south between junction 17 and junction 10.46pm.

He pleaded not guilty but the case was found proved in his absence at a hearing in June and adjourned to Wellingborough Magistrates Court for a personal appearance.