Andrew Lees, a 47-year-old father from Greater Manchester,was detained for 16 hours and banned from driving for four months because of a clerical mistake. A different driver's offenses were incorrectly linked to his license, leading to a wrongful arrest in February.
16 hours in a cell for someone else's 19 penalty points
The ordeal for Andrew Lees, an IT consultant living in Sale, Greater Manchester, began when he discovered a DVLA letter in November 2025 stating he had been banned from driving.. According to the report, the letter claimed that Carlisle Magistrates' Court had imposed the ban after Lees accumulated 19 penalty points. Despite having no prior court appearances, Mr. Lees found himself trapped in a bureaucratic loop , unable to identify the court file responsible for the error or receive a response from the Single Justice Service.
The situation escalated in February when police stopped Mr. Lees while he was driving his wife's Kia Sportage. because the official records incorrectly listed him as a disqualified driver, officers arrested him and held him in custody for 16 hours. Mr. Lees described the experience as terrifying,noting that he was locked up eight miles from his home and fed only "pot noodles for breakfast, lunch and dinner" while fearing a potential prison sentence.
The 'closed-door' convictions of the Single Justice Procedure
This case highlights the risks associated with the Single Justice Procedure, a fast-track system used by magistrates to convict drivers for minor motoring offenses. As reported, this process often occurs behind closed doors without the defendants being represented. In the case of Andrew Lees, the proceedings took place at Carlisle Magistrates' Court—a hub for these cases—even though the actual offenses were committed by another individual in Greater Manchester.
The use of such automated, high-volume systems creates a dangerous lack of transparency. When a clericaal error occurs within the Single Justice Procedure, the defendant may not even know they have been convicted until they are pulled over by police or receive a formal notice. For Mr. Lees, this meant four months of being unable to perform basic family duties, such as the school run for his daughters, aged five and nine.
How Austin Anderson-Brettell uncovered the DVLA mix-up
The resolution of the case only came after the family hired Olliers Solicitors. Specialist motoring solicitor Austin Anderson-Brettell discovered that the driving offenses belonging to a completely different defendant had been erroneously assigned to the driving license number of Andrew Lees. Mr. Anderson-Brettell argued that the system's flaws are significant and that the lack of transparency prevents justice from being "seen to be done."
The legal intervention by Olliers Solicitors proved essential , as Mr. Lees' previous attempts to resolve the matter through emails and calls to the DVLA and the Cumbrian Magistrate's Court had failed. this suggests that without professional legal representation, the error might have persisted, leaving an innocent man with a criminal record for driving while disqualified.
Why the Crown Prosecution Service delayed dropping the case
One of the most troubling aspects of this case is the response of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). According to the report, the CPS did not immediately drop the charges even after being informed of the clerical mistake. It was only after further representations from Olliers Solicitors that the CPS finally dismissed the case—just one day before it was scheduled to be heard in court.
Several critical questions remain unanswered. First, why did the Crown Prosecution Service ignore the initial evidence of a mistake, allowing the case to proceed to the brink of trial? Second, who was the actual driver in Greater Manchester whose crimes were attributed to Mr. lees? The source does not identify the original offender or explain why the DVLA's verification process failed to catch the mismatch between the defendant's identity and the license number.
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