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10-18-2005, 05:16 PM
Friday, 14th October 2005
The speeding lie that cost £11,000
Clarissa Satchell
A PROFESSIONAL couple are £11,000 out of pocket after they tried to dodge two £60 speeding fines by inventing a driver from Bulgaria to fool police.
The wife even flew to Bulgaria to send a postcard to her husband from the phantom driver.
Police exposed the "elaborate" web of lies of chartered surveyors Stewart and Cathryn Bromley, who dreamed up the Bulgarian in a complex scam to escape paying the fines. They claimed the man - named Konstantin Koscov - had been driving the family Mercedes when it was twice caught on camera breaking the speed limit near their home in Hyde.
As police grew suspicious, 42-year-old Mrs Bromley travelled the 1,400 miles to Bulgaria to send the faked postcard from the fictitious Mr Koscov to back up the story.
But investigating officer Pc Mark Beales was unconvinced and contacted Interpol and the British embassy in Sofia in an attempt to track down the driver.
Guilty
The Bromleys eventually admitted making up the story after investigators said they could find no trace of Mr Koscov.
Yesterday, the couple, from Moss Lane, Broadbottom, were ordered to pay a total of £9,200 in fines and £1,900 in costs after they pleaded guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Sentencing them at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Bernard Lever said: "The best place to hit people like these is in their pockets. Had they not pleaded guilty, I would have almost certainly sent them to prison."
The Bromleys' Mercedes was twice clocked speeding by a fixed speed camera in Dukinfield Road, Hyde, in January.
Instead of paying the two £60 fines, Mr Bromley, 43, wrote on his Notice of Intended Prosecution that neither he nor his wife was driving the car at the time.
More on this Story (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/177/177871_the_speeding_lie_that_cost_11000.html)
The speeding lie that cost £11,000
Clarissa Satchell
A PROFESSIONAL couple are £11,000 out of pocket after they tried to dodge two £60 speeding fines by inventing a driver from Bulgaria to fool police.
The wife even flew to Bulgaria to send a postcard to her husband from the phantom driver.
Police exposed the "elaborate" web of lies of chartered surveyors Stewart and Cathryn Bromley, who dreamed up the Bulgarian in a complex scam to escape paying the fines. They claimed the man - named Konstantin Koscov - had been driving the family Mercedes when it was twice caught on camera breaking the speed limit near their home in Hyde.
As police grew suspicious, 42-year-old Mrs Bromley travelled the 1,400 miles to Bulgaria to send the faked postcard from the fictitious Mr Koscov to back up the story.
But investigating officer Pc Mark Beales was unconvinced and contacted Interpol and the British embassy in Sofia in an attempt to track down the driver.
Guilty
The Bromleys eventually admitted making up the story after investigators said they could find no trace of Mr Koscov.
Yesterday, the couple, from Moss Lane, Broadbottom, were ordered to pay a total of £9,200 in fines and £1,900 in costs after they pleaded guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice.
Sentencing them at Manchester Crown Court, Judge Bernard Lever said: "The best place to hit people like these is in their pockets. Had they not pleaded guilty, I would have almost certainly sent them to prison."
The Bromleys' Mercedes was twice clocked speeding by a fixed speed camera in Dukinfield Road, Hyde, in January.
Instead of paying the two £60 fines, Mr Bromley, 43, wrote on his Notice of Intended Prosecution that neither he nor his wife was driving the car at the time.
More on this Story (http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/men/news/s/177/177871_the_speeding_lie_that_cost_11000.html)