Suspended sentence for driving instructor with £42,000 debt

Mar 14 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A CASH-STRAPPED driving instructor who ran up credit card debts totalling more than £42,000 has been given a suspended prison sentence for deception offences.

Christopher Meredith, 37, of Thirlmere Avenue, Elland, used a friend’s details to take out seven credit cards, but got into financial difficulties after initially making regular payments.

Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday that Meredith had used the cards effectively to ‘run his life’, but his conscience got the better of him and he voluntarily owned up to the credit card companies.

Although some of the companies were happy with repayment arrangements, one bank contacted the police and Meredith confessed to what he had done.

In January Meredith pleaded guilty at Halifax Magistrates Court to six offences of deception, covering a period between February 2006 and July 2008, and yesterday Recorder Paul Sloan QC sentenced him to 35 weeks in prison suspended for a year.

As part of the order Meredith will also be supervised for a year and must do 150 hours unpaid work for the community.