An asylum seeker was “helping a friend” when he was caught driving a Mercedes without a valid UK driving licence on the A66.

Hareon Mustafa, 28, told Workington Magistrates’ Court that his driving licence had been issued in his homeland of Kurdistan and he had arrived in the UK in 2016.

Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said police stopped a white Mercedes on the A66 Stainburn bypass in Workington  at 1am on July 13.

Mustafa initially gave a different name. Checks revealed he didn’t have a valid UK driving licence. No police interview was conducted.

Ms Fee said that Mustafa had last been before the courts in 2019 for possession with intent to supply and had been given a custodial sentence in respect of that.

Mustafa, who was unrepresented, said he was driving for the first time when he was stopped by police. He said his friend had asked him for help with driving and he had agreed.

“I’m not going to do it again,” he told the court.

The court heard that the defendant was an asylum seeker, who was currently living with a friend in Bradford and had no income.

Mustafa, of High Street, Keighley, Bradford, pleaded guilty to using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without third party insurance and driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

He was fined £120 and must pay £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge. Eight penalty points were added to his driving licence.

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