‘clear evidence’ | 

Banned Dublin driver caught swapping seats with passenger when spotted by gardaí

Christopher Warburton (29) was given another three-year disqualification after a judge said he showed disregard for court orders

Today at 07:06

A banned driver caught behind the wheel was seen “swapping places” with his passenger in an attempt to evade being prosecuted, a court heard.

Christopher Warburton (29) was given another three-year disqualification after a judge said he showed disregard for court orders and there was “clear evidence” he had tried to avoid detection.

Warburton, of Hill Street Flats in Dublin’s north inner city, pleaded guilty to driving without a licence. Dublin District Court heard gardaí were on patrol at Parnell Street on January 18 when they saw a car driven by the accused. It pulled in behind the garda car and the gardaí did a U-turn and went back to it.

They saw Warburton and a woman climbing over each other in the front of the car, trying to swap places. The accused had been driving while disqualified and was arrested and charged.

Warburton had 42 previous convictions for offences including unlicensed and uninsured driving, as well as endangerment. His last driving ban was for four years, in 2022. The accused had previously abused drugs and alcohol and came to “a significant amount of garda attention”, his solicitor John Shanley said.

He added that Warburton had been bettering himself in the last number of years and had trained to be a forklift driver. The court heard he was lawfully entitled to drive a vehicle if it was not in a public place.

The judge said of Warburton there was “clear evidence he attempted to evade detection” by swapping seats with his companion in the car.​​​