A motorist who tried to fool police with a fake driving licence has been told he narrowly avoided an immediate jail sentence. 

Manuel Da Silva Pilar, 34, from Norwich, handed over what he claimed was a Portuguese licence after police stopped to check on him when his Citroen Berlingo broke down on the A11 in March 2022. 

Norwich Crown Court was told an eagle-eyed officer became suspicious that the licence was in fact homemade.

Danielle O’Donovan, prosecuting, said subsequent investigations with Portuguese authorities found the father-of-four had never had a genuine licence. 

READ MORE: Driver told he could be jailed over fake licence

Michael Clare, mitigating, said the fake had been “wholly unsophisticated” and had no “sinister motive” but had simply been in order to drive to work. 

Recorder Nicola Fitches said the offence was so serious that a custodial sentence was inevitable but she suspended a three month jail term for 10 months.

Ordering he also carry out 150 unpaid work, she told him only the impact on others including his children, aged between five and 17, had stopped her sending him straight to prison.