An innocent father was held in a police cell for 16 hours and banned from driving for four months after a clerical error by the DVLA wrongly identified him as a disqualified driver. The mistake, which was only rectified after a court case was dropped, left the man fearing imprisonment.
Arrest and aftermath
Andrew Lees, a 47-year-old IT consultant from Sale, Greater Manchester, was arrested while driving his wife's Kia Sportage near their home. Police checks incorrectly showed he had been banned from the roads, leading to his detention and a subsequent four-month period during which he was unable to drive.
Before the arrest, Mr Lees had attempted to resolve the issue after receiving a letter from the DVLA in November 2025. The letter informed him that he had been banned from driving at Carlisle Magistrates' Court after accumulating 19 penalty points. The ban was imposed under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a system that allows magistrates to convict drivers for minor offences without a public hearing or legal representation.
Faulty information and legal battle
The offences were understood to have been committed by another driver in Greater Manchester. Mr Lees stated, “I absolutely knew those points were not mine. I thought it was just an admin error that would be easily cleared up. But after repeated emails, letters and calls to the DVLA, to the Cumbrian Magistrates' Court and to the Single Justice Service [that deals with SJPs], I had no resolution. It was clearly a mistake, so I genuinely thought it would be OK to drive.”
He described the arrest: “They pulled me over, breathalysed me twice and then said, 'Let's just get in the back of the van and we can sort this out'. Suddenly I'm arrested and heading to the cells. It was terrifying. The officers just wouldn't listen to what I was telling them. I was locked up eight miles from home for something I hadn't done and facing a court case which could lead to prison.”
Resolution and official response
Solicitor Austin Anderson-Brettell commented, “It beggars belief the case got this far. This could have been rectified so easily.” The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) finally dropped the case the day before it was due in court.
Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers acting on good faith with incorrect information from a clerical error made the arrest of a man in relation to a driving offence. Once this error was rectified, the matter was discontinued and the crime closed. The car has since been passed back to a third party pending final release.”
