A SPEEDING driver who tried to blame his offence on someone else has been sent to prison for four months.

Alexandro Eli De Franca was caught travelling at 79mph on the A30 at Hawkstor near Bodmin, which has a 60mph speed limit for the class of vehicle being driven.

When the company he worked for received a notice of intended prosecution from Devon and Cornwall Police’s safety camera team, they nominated De Franca as the driver.

However, De Franca then nominated another person as being the driver at the time of the offence, which raised suspicions.

An investigation found De Franca had lied in order to try to avoid the speeding offence.

De Franca appeared at Plymouth Crown Court on July 15, 2022, charged with perverting the course of justice. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four months in prison. Supt Adrian Leisk, roads policing lead and chair of the Vision Zero South West enforcement group, said: “If De Franca had admitted his guilt in the first instance, he would likely have received three penalty points and a £100 fine.

“Instead he chose to lie and is now spending four months in prison.

“Devon and Cornwall Police has a dedicated team of experienced officers who go under the banner of Op Cheetah.

“It is their job to investigate any roads policing cases where they suspect people are attempting to pervert the course of justice.

“Op Cheetah has access to vast levels of intelligence and databases which enables them to identify any false claims.

“Once detected – as with this case – these people will be robustly dealt with through the court system.”