Wisbech man Ernest Paucs lied about age when pulled over in Outwell by police

A 19-year-old pretended he was nearly twice that age after being pulled over by police.

Ernest Paucs, of Princes Road in Wisbech, appeared at King's Lynn Magistrates' Court on Thursday, pleading guilty to both driving without third party insurance and wilfully obstructing a police officer in the execution of his duty.

Crown prosecutor Colette Harper told magistrates that at around midday on August 9 last year, a uniformed officer in an unmarked car took notice of the blue BMW that Paucs was driving along Isle Road in Outwell.

The constable's attention was drawn to the front windscreen of the car because its tint was too dark. He performed a background check on the vehicle and discovered it was uninsured.

Paucs came to a natural stop, and when quizzed by police he spoke "clearly", according to Ms Harper.

When asked to provide his date of birth, the defendant told the officer that he was born in 1983 - which would have made him 35.

Ms Harper said that he was "clearly lying about his identity" - but he did then tell them his real name and age.

Paucs told the constable that he only had a European driving licence and that he did not have it with him at the time. He then claimed he was experiencing a "language barrier", but Ms Harper insisted there was none.

In mitigation, Tiffany Meredith said that Paucs made full admissions to his offences during a police interview.

The solicitor also informed magistrates that Paucs had been pulled over again the very next day by the same officer, being handed a fixed penalty notice and six penalty points for his lack of insurance - meaning he was no longer subject to new driver provisions.

By the time he appeared in court again on Thursday, Paucs had obtained a provisional licence again.

"At the time this happened, it was his car - he had just bought it," Ms Meredith said.

"That is why he wasn't insured, as he still had his previous vehicle getting fixed and couldn't insure it.

"He knows he should have done it."

She went on to tell magistrates that Paucs is only working part-time hours at the moment, despite previously holding a full-time role, because his wife was pregnant at the time of his offence and gave birth in February.

The solicitor said that the defendant was nervous when he was pulled over by police because he wanted to support his family, and that is why he lied about his age.

"He had a previous bad experience with police that perhaps put him more on edge than the average person," she added.

"He has taken action. He made daft mistakes two days in a row.

"Were you to give him a short disqualification period, that would allow him to book his driving test as soon as possible and get himself back on the road."

Magistrates, led by Alan Hayes, heeded her mitigation and banned Paucs from driving for three months.

He was also fined £120 for driving without insurance and £50 for obstructing the police constable's duty, while he was ordered to pay £105 in legal costs and a £68 victim surcharge.