The 77-year-old man’s brother wrote a letter to the court saying the pensioner “has no recollection of receiving any letters”
The 77-year-old man as no memory of receiving a fine from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (Image: Getty)
A 77-year-old man with severe dementia has been convicted for not insuring the car he is unable to drive.
The the pensioner from Middleton, Greater Manchester, stopped using his Peugeot when he was first diagnosed with dementia in December 2024. He was prosecuted due to not having insurance on his car on August 12 last year and convicted in a controversial fast-track court process.
The Press Association reported that court papers show the man is now “confused much of the time” and unable to manage his own affairs.
The man has no memory of receiving a fine from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) over the uninsured vehicle in August 2025. The DVLA then moved to a prosecution when the penalty was not paid.
The pensioner’s brother was alerted to the problem when the DVLA brought a criminal prosecution earlier this month. He sent a letter to the court explaining the circumstances of the unpaid bill, but it was insufficint halt the prosecution.
He said in the letter that the pensioner is incapable of managing his affairs to any degree. The brother had only just become aware of this issue.
“(He) is a 77-year-old pensioner who is suffering from severe dementia,” the brother wrote, adding that has not driven since the diagnosis.
The pensioner did not drive at all in 2025, but wrongly told a doctor during one of his medical assessments that he “is still driving”.
The man is ‘confused most of the time’ due to his dementia (Image: Getty)
“The severity of his dementia causes memory loss resulting in him being confused much of the time,” the brother said.
“(He) has no recollection of receiving any letters regarding this.”
The brother said that around the Spring of 2025, it was agreed that he would purchase the vehicle from the pensioner and had arranged for the vehicle to have a new MOT.
The brother said he is seeking to obtain Power of Attorney to enable him to handle the pensioner’s affairs.
A magistrate in Derby convicted the penioner last Thursday of keeping a motor vehicle which does not meet insurance requirements. Magistrate Louise Hammond accepted a guilty plea entered on his behalf from his brother.
Hammond imposed a six-month conditional discharge rather than a fine.
The DVLA is able to apply to the court to reopen the case, even though a guilty plea was entered and accepted by the court.
