London, Aug 3 (IANS) A man in Britain who tried to help his friend after the latter failed in a driving test for the fifth time, has been jailed for cheating after he failed as well.


Suspicion arose after a qualified driver Derbas Hamed turned up at a test centre pretending to be his friend, Hadi Mohammed. He arrived for the test driving his own car without anyone else accompanying him, Daily Express reported.

He undertook the test and failed “in a spectacular fashion” making 16 driving mistakes, Gloucester Crown court was told.

The man and his friend Mohammed were jailed after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.

Ex-Iraqi police officer Mohammed, 28, received a two-month sentence while Hamed, 25, who has a previous conviction record for fraud after impersonating someone else for a driving theory test, was jailed for three months.

Rosie Walsh, prosecuting, said: “Mr Mohammed had booked to take his driving test in Gloucester. He had failed the test five times beforehand.

“Mr Hamed was seen to drive up to the test centre, remove L-plates, put them in the boot and then took his test.

“When Mr Mohammed was also arrested, he said he had been too tired to take the test.”