A FARMER was fined after using a farm vehicle on the roads without insurance or an MOT.

Charles Dowdeswell Parry, of Stonehouse Lane, Bringsty, near Bromyard, entered a guilty plea when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford on March 18.

Prosecutor Shafquat Reaz said police were on patrol just before midnight on October 30 last year when they saw Parry’s Mitsubishi L200 being driven on Old Road, Bromyard,

They pulled him over after checks showed the pick-up truck had no insurance or MOT.

Speaking in his own defence, Parry told the court that the Mitsubishi did not have any insurance or MOT as it was normally used solely as a farm vehicle, and never usually left his premises.

But on that evening, he said he had decided to use it to transport produce from his farm before stopping at a pub for a couple of beers. He was caught by police as he returned from taking a couple of friends home.

“I hold my hands up,” Parry said.

“I have had a lot of problems over the past 12 months. I was banned from keeping livestock for 12 years, and I am living in a caravan on my land.

“Flooding has affected my crops, and I no longer have the income from my animals.”

Parry received six penalty points and was fined £70.

He was also ordered to pay costs of £70 and a £32 victim surcharge.