‘It was just a bad day,’ he told WalesOnline after being spared jail for perverting the course of justice
15:19, 19 Feb 2026
A man lied about his identity after being caught driving without a licence. Darren Ryan had just been stopped by police when he decided in “the spur of the moment” to give his brother’s name and address instead of his own, Cardiff Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Hannah Head said the 59-year-old was driving an uninsured car on May 7 last year in Cardiff’s Newport Road when he was stopped by a PC Humphries. He gave the name of his brother, Matthew Cleves, as his own and told the officer he did not have his driving licence or any ID on him.
When the officer informed him he would be reported for driving without insurance, he gave his brother’s address and date of birth. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.
“It would have caused his brother an element of distress, requiring him to attend the police station to correct matters,” said Ms Head. “It was a breach of his trust.”
After receiving a court summons in the post Mr Cleves went to the police station and showed a picture of Ryan to officers.
Ryan was then called in for an interview and made “wholehearted admissions”, said defence solicitor Adam Sharp, who told the court: “This was not in any way sophisticated or planned.
“My client has shown genuine remorse. He has both physical and mental health concerns but remains in work and is able to undertake unpaid work.
“He is thoroughly ashamed to find himself in this position and wants to build bridges with the parties affected.”
Ryan, of Y Rhodfa in Barry, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice. He committed “offences of dishonesty” as a youngster but had not offended for 30 years before the recent Cardiff incident, the court heard.
Mr Sharp told the court his client had already been sentenced by magistrates to a 12-month driving ban and £800 in financial penalties having admitted driving without a licence or insurance.
He had been paying for representation out of his own pocket as his job income meant he was ineligible for legal aid, the solicitor said.
The judge, recorder Mark Powell KC, said there was a “pretty clear” inference from the pre-sentence report that Ryan had been driving without a licence “for a while” before he was caught.
“You gave your brother’s name and address but it was bound to fail,” the judge told Ryan. “He was not going to say, ‘Yes, I was driving.’
“It was a spur of the moment matter. These offences cause enormous difficulties for the prosecution who have to start and stop proceedings. And it cannot be pleasant for your brother to have a summons through the post when it had nothing to do with him.
“You’re 59 and, although up to 1995 you were in trouble for offences of dishonesty, you hadn’t been in trouble since.
“I accept entirely you have physical difficulties, back problems, but you have shown a very strong work ethic when many others would have given up work. Your frankness to the probation service, when others would have sought to minimise, is also to be commended.”
Recorder Powell imposed a four-month jail term suspended for 15 months, 100 hours of unpaid work, 10 rehabilitation activity days, £300 in prosecution costs and a £154 victim services surcharge. Before bringing the sentencing to a close he told Ryan: “You know you’ve done wrong, your brother knows you’ve done wrong, and I very much hope you don’t darken our doors again.”
Ryan responded emphatically from the dock: “I certainly will not.” When we approached him for comment as he left court, he told us he was “of course” sorry and blamed his betrayal of his brother on “a bad day”.
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