Kettering Man Caught Driving Hours After Being Disqualified

A Kettering man caught driving only hours after being disqualified has seemingly benefited from the current prison population crisis.

Cody Fox, 20, of Pagent Court, Kettering, admitted offences of driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance when he appeared at Northampton Magistrates' Court on Friday, 2nd August 2024.

Magistrates heard that the 20-year-old had been further disqualified from driving on Thursday, 1st August 2024, having been caught driving whilst disqualified and without insurance on Tuesday, 2nd July 2024.

At around 8 pm on Thursday, 1st August, having been in court only a few hours earlier, police observed Fox driving a Ford Transit, again whilst disqualified and without insurance. He was duly arrested and presented before the court the following morning.

On that occasion, Fox having driven whilst disqualified for the third time within a month, Magistrates were of the opinion that his offence was so serious that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. However, for reasons that have gone unreported, they elected to suspend the custodial term.

Fox was sentenced to 8 weeks' custody, suspended for 12 months.

He was ordered to pay £154 surcharge and £85 towards prosecution costs.

His disqualification would also have been further extended, although that has not been reported.

The Presiding Justice has noted that Fox's most recent offence was a "flagrant disregard" of the order of the court.

This is most definitely an offence where, under normal circumstances, Fox would have received an immediate custodial sentence. However, things being as they are at the moment the court was probably mindful that 8 weeks' immediate custody would equate to only 2 or 3 weeks behind bars, which could well have done more harm than good in terms of Fox's personal circumstances.

Circumstances really have thrown him a life line. Should he be daft enough to drive yet again whilst disqualified, I think immediate custody is inevitable - and it would probably consist the activation of his suspended sentence plus extra on top.