Driver, 64, is jailed for eight months after police caught him using laser jammer on his S-class Mercedes to beat speed traps 

• Keith John, from Swansea, was jailed for eight months after using laser jammers
• Laser jammers send bright flashes towards speed cameras to stop them working
• John, 64, fitted two jammers but claimed he was using them as parking sensors
• After his trial in May, the jury found him guilty of perverting the course of justice 

A driver has been jailed after he fitted a laser jammer to his car, which confused a speed camera and stopped it from working.

Keith John, 64, from Ynysforgan, Swansea, was jailed for eight months for perverting the court of justice after he fitted two laser jammers to the front of his car to beat speed traps.

He claimed he was using them as parking sensors and had not been breaking the speed limit when his use of the jammers came to light, but an engineer slammed use of the devices as a 'deliberate scam'.

Laser jammers send bright flashes of infrared light towards a speed camera device, making it impossible for the camera to work adequately and take an accurate reading or measurement of the speed a car is being driven at.

His use of the devices was discovered when a casualty reduction officer at Go Safe Cymru was operating a speed camera on the A40 in Llanspyddid, near Brecon.

The officer noticed that although he could pick up the speed at which the cars immediately before and after the silver Mercedes were travelling, he could not pick up the speed of that one vehicle. 

Recognising that the error message on his device was not normal, the incident was reported and upon investigation, police found two black rectangular objects fitted to the front of the car, one on each side of the number plate. 

The devices were confirmed to be laser jammers and PC White and PC Jones of Dyfed-Powys Police went to John's home and found two further vehicles fitted with the same devices.

The two vehicles, the Mercedes, and an additional two cars registered to the property were seized and examined by Steve Callaghan, a forensic engineer at Road Safety Support.

He discovered six laser jammer systems in total across the five vehicles. One of them, a Vauxhall van, had two separate laser jamming systems and a radar and laser warning device fitted to it. 

John was charged with perverting the course of justice following the incident on May 19, 2018. He pleaded not guilty, and his trial was not held until May this year.

He told Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court that the laser jammer was actually a parking sensor and that he hadn't broken the speed limit of 60mph, so he had no need to use the jamming system.

But Mr Callaghan argued that the jammers are 'all but useless' as parking sensors and insisted that it was a 'deliberate scam'. 

He continued: 'While Mr John, as others have done before him, contended that the blinder jammer can function as a parking sensor, this is a deliberate scam to attempt to confuse the police and courts.

'Mr John's S-class Mercedes, one of the most well-equipped and luxurious cars by reputation and quality, needed no additional device to supplement the excellent parking aids on his car.

'The blinder jammer is primarily a device used to trick the police into thinking their equipment is defective while the driver using it can speed with impunity.

'In any case it should be recognised that laser jamming devices are all but useless as a parking sensor.'  

At the end of the trial, which took place between May 18 and May 21, the jury found him guilty of perverting the course of justice and he was jailed for eight months.

Dyfed-Powys Police inspector Andrew Williams said: 'I would like to thank all involved for their efforts in putting together a strong file of evidence, and overcoming a number of difficulties during the investigation - not least the defendant's reluctance to provide any information in interview.

'Speed cameras - both fixed and mobile - are there not to frustrate drivers, but for the safety of all road users. 

'By installing devices like this to evade being caught driving at excess speed, John showed a blatant disregard for the law, putting himself and others at risk.'

Sergeant Ian Price, GoSafe coordinator at Dyfed-Powys Police, said John's punishment was far greater than what he would have got had he just been caught speeding.

'The offence of speeding in these circumstances would have ordinarily caused a driver to have their driving licence endorsed and a fine of £100 or an educational speed awareness course,' he said.

'However, when people go to extreme lengths to avoid prosecution in fitting technology to their car that allows them to exceed the speed limit without fear of prosecution, they not only show an insalubrious attitude towards the judicial system of this country and what it stands for, they also display a complete disdain towards the risk of harm to others where excessive or inappropriate speed are one of the primary causes of killed or serious injury collisions in the UK. 

'The sentence handed out is a lesson to those in society who feel they can cheat the law and pose a real and substantial risk of harm on our roads'.

Teresa Ciano, GoSafe partnership manager added: 'Speeding is a choice, fitting a laser jammer is a choice; a choice which Mr John made to the detriment of safety of all other road users.'