A SIXTY-two-year-old woman with no previous criminal record has been given a suspended jail sentence – after sending police a fake photo of her car to avoid being punished for a speeding offence in Carlisle.

Mary Glass White’s Mercedes car was caught on camera as it drove along Brunel Way in the city centre on August 3 at 46mph – on a stretch of road with a 40mph limit.

When police sent her a notice of intended prosecution, Carlisle Crown Court heard, she said she was not the driver. She later emailed the police photographs which she suggested helped prove her case, claiming she was in Scotland at the time.

In court, the defendant, from Newmilns, East Ayrshire, admitted attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Prosecutor Jane Dagnall told the court that when police received the photos from the defendant on August 17, 2019, offices spotted inconsistencies.

They also investigated White’s phone records, finding she was not as claimed in Scotland but in York on August 2 and in her home area the next day.

A police officer with examined the image White sent of her car found that it has been “digitally manipulated.” When challenged by police about this, she said it must have been her son who had sent the photos to the police.

“In a prepared statement, she said she had not deliberately lied,” said Mis Dagnall.

When asked for details about her son, she was unable to give his details.

Recorder Kate Bex QC told the defendant: “In August, 2019, your behaviour, I am afraid, was plainly dishonest in attempting to evade the fact that you have been the driver on that occasion.

"The gravamen [essence] of the offence is that perverting the course of justice strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system."

The judge accepted the offence was "out of character" but said the defendant's dishonesty happened over a period of weeks as she tried to prove she was not the driver of the car seen speeding in Carlisle.

The judge added: "I have been told that one untrue thing snowballed and accumulated to the extent that it did."

Recorder Bex imposed an 18 week jail term but suspended the prison term for 12 months. The defendant must complete 10 rehabilitation days with the Probation Service and pay prosecution costs of £500.

The charge the defendant admitted says she "with intent to pervert the course of public justice did a series of acts, namely stated on the phone that she had never been to England and photo-shopped the appearance of her car to avoid a speeding fine.