A MOTORIST who claimed his licence plates had been stolen to avoid a £100 fine for running a red light has been jailed.

A Vauxhall Zafira registered to Dean Ratcliffe was caught on camera driving through a red light in Headington Road, Oxford, at about 10.45pm on March 28 last year.

The force said the next day Ratcliffe falsely reported his number plates had been stolen.

When asked to identify the driver, the 40-year-old told officers the car was parked at his home in Sorrel Road, Blackbird Leys, at the time.

But a police probe compared Ratcliffe's car with the one caught on camera and revealed he had deliberately tried to disguise it.

Thames Valley Police spokeswoman Lucy Billen told the Oxford Mail Ratcliffe had tried to alter his car by adding and removing stickers and removing his wheel trims.

During a second interview Ratcliffe denied altering his car to avoid a traffic offence and told officers he had bought new plates with the same registration number as soon as he had reported the theft to police.

But the investigation found no evidence Ratcliffe had bought the new plates and he was summonsed to Oxford Magistrates' Court in November.

His case was sent to the crown court where he admitted perverting the course of justice at a hearing in April this year.

Judge Peter Ross, sitting at Oxford Crown Court on Friday, jailed Ratcliffe for 15 months.

Investigating officer, PC Carl Lewis of the Fixed Penalty Support Unit, said had Ratcliffe admitted running the red light he would have got a £100 fine and three points on his license.

PC Lewis added Ratcliffe had thought himself "untouchable" by the law and hoped his jail sentence would deter others from lying to police over traffic offences.

He said: “Ratcliffe made a pre-meditated effort to evade the penalties for a minor road traffic offence by making a false report of theft to police and by then altering the appearance of his vehicle.

“If he had admitted the red light offence he would have received a fine and three penalty points on his driving licence but thought his account was untouchable so maintained it throughout.

"I hope this sentence will deter others from trying to deceive the police following requests for driver information.”