An apprentice engineer from Warwickshire who was jailed for leading police on a high-speed car chase, has become one of the first offenders to win an appeal in front of the TV cameras.
Oliver Drew Charvill, 20, of Henry Street, Kenilworth, was sentenced to nine months’ youth custody and banned from driving for five years.
But Charvill, who admitted dangerous driving at Warwick Crown Court in July, appealed against his ban, claiming it would hinder his chances of getting work – and had it cut to two years on Friday.
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The case was one of the first appeals to be carried out under the glare of the television cameras after a Government decision to allow filming.
Judge Anthony Morris QC said the offence had been a one-off instance of “impulsive stupidity” rather than the actions of an inherently dangerous driver.
Charvill's barrister, Liz Power, argued that the five-year driving ban was excessive and that it would harm his chance of rehabilitation.
Getting a job is not easy in the current economic climate and would be even more difficult without a driving licence, she said.
“It’s likely that this was a one-off driving incident, never to be repeated,” she told Judge Morris and Mr Justice Globe.
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Judge Morris said: “As the appellant had no history of driving offences and appears usually to have been a careful and competent driver, we are prepared to treat the driving as a piece of impulsive stupidity and not someone who represents a continuing risk to the public.
“In the circumstances, we have concluded that the period of disqualification was too long and propose to reduce it to one of two years.”