Lying Havant mechanic who ‘put lives at risk’ in MoT scam dodges jail

Fraudster Phillip Wilson narrowly avoided jail after his dodgy dealings were exposed by government inspectors.

The 36-year-old was caught red-handed faking the results of 33 MoT certificates while working at the MTs MoT Centre, in Victoria Road, Waterlooville.

His actions forced the authorities to issue a safety warning to dozens of drivers across the area, inciting the fury of Judge Gary Burrell QC, who vowed to make an example of Wilson.

Speaking at a hearing at Southampton Crown Court, Judge Burrell told Wilson: ‘You were in a position of trust. You knew what you were doing.

‘What you did in this case was to expose others to a risk of loss and a risk of injury.

‘You displayed utter contempt for the MoT system and its integrity.’

The court heard how monitors from the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) visited MTs on June 18, 2018.

During their trip inspectors discovered two pieces of equipment, vital in testing a vehicle’s braking system, were broken.

Shocked, they ordered Wilson to stop all testing until both the roller-brake tester and decelerometer were fixed.

But the cheating mechanic, of Bedhampton Way, Havant, ignored the warnings and continued to dupe customers into thinking their vehicle’s were road-worthy.

Prosecutor Lucy Conroy told the court when Wilson later admitted to inspectors ‘making up the values’ and ‘taking cash to issue certificates by hand’ to avoid them being electronically registered with the DVSA.

She added: ‘The public has a right to have trust and confidence in those we ensure the safety of our families and ourselves. Currently, we have 33 vehicles who may or may not have defective brakes.’

Wilson has since been sacked from his role at the garage and banned from his profession for five years.

Simon Moger, defending, said his client accepted ‘full responsibility for his actions’ and added: ‘He was very, very foolish to have carried on doing what he was doing.’

Judge Burrell said the public’s confidence had been rocked and insisted he needed to make an example of Wilson to act as a ‘deterrent’ to others.

However, he stopped short of an immediate prison sentence, instead imposing a six-month jail term, suspended for two years.

He added: ‘This is not an easy decision because you are of good character, you are unlikely to re-offend and you have lost quite a lot – you’ve lost your job, you’ve lost the prospect of being an MoT certificate giver for at least five years, your family situation has broken down.

‘So you have, I accept, lost quite a lot. I am just – but only just – persuaded that it would be appropriate to suspend the sentence.’

Wilson was ordered to pay £3,725 in costs and carry out 200 hours unpaid work.