A BUSINESSMAN who used a fake licence plate registered to a stranger because he was fed up paying parking fines has received a suspended prison sentence.

Robert Samples, from Bicester, used fake number plates to deceive traffic wardens into thinking his vehicle belonged to another driver as he drove around the country delivering leaflets.

But when he stopped in Harrogate, local police spotted his scam and arrested him. He told them he couldn’t afford to pay all the parking fines he was getting.

Samples, 53, of Hawksmead, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at York Crown Court on Friday and was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years on condition he does 30 days rehabilitation activity and 200 hours’ unpaid work.

Judge Michael Taylor told him only his lack of previous convictions saved him from an immediate trip to jail.

Samples' defence barrister Jessica Strange said he deliberately chose the number plates of a van in Scotland so its driver would have few problems in proving he was elsewhere when the fines were incurred.

She said he had not understood how serious his offence was: as a result of the court case his wife has now left him and taken their children abroad.

He was "incredibly ashamed" and remorseful and "terrified" of going to prison.