Stratford car dealer given suspended prison sentence

The car, a Ford Ka advertised on Facebook, was purchased by a Leamington Spa resident to do the school run. After having problems with the vehicle she took it for an MOT test, which it failed. Trading Standards’ expert vehicle examiner identified a number of faults which made the car unsafe to drive.

These included faulty power steering, seized brakes, excessive corrosion to the driver’s seat mounting and failed suspension. These faults affected the integrity of the vehicle and would have lessened its ability to withstand an impact should there have been an accident. Trading Standards investigations revealed that Ian Blinkhorne of Elm Road, Stratford-upon-Avon had advertised 89 vehicles for sale on the “Gumtree” website since February 2013.

At Nuneaton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 5th January 2016, Ian Blinkhorne pleaded guilty to the offences of advertising as a private seller and selling an unsafe vehicle. He received a sentence of 12 weeks' imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also ordered to pay costs of £1,500. Mr Blinkhorne eventually refunded the consumer, once Trading Standards became involved in the matter.

Full story in this Thursday's Herald.