Pensioner, 86, with Parkinson's disease is handed criminal record over unpaid car tax bill... of £3.34

Get your news delivered straight to you by 7am - sign up to our new Morning Mail newsletter for FREEDo YOU have a story? Email Joshua.Haining@dailymail.co.uk See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 10:40 EDT, 30 July 2026 | Updated: 10:42 EDT, 30 July 2026 An 86-year-old with Parkinson's disease has been convicted over an unpaid car tax bill of just £3.34.The pensioner, who lives on the outskirts of Newcastle, was handed a criminal record after the annual £20 tax bill in his silver Ford Fiesta accidentally went unpaid.He told the court that his daughter manages his joint finances with his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer's, and she missed the bill as she moved homes.The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) then launched a criminal prosecution over six weeks from February to March after the car was not taxed.In his note to the court, the elderly man said he had already paid an £80 financial penalty which he believed was for the outstanding tax bill, leaving him confused as to why he has been prosecuted.He was convicted at Lincoln Magistrates' Court on July 23, as part of a Single Justice Procedure where his case was dealt with behind closed doors. A court order was issued for the man to pay £3.34 in compensation to the DVLA.The prosecution began after the agency sent a letter to the man at a time when they were unaware of his health difficulties. On the day the man was convicted, 60 other DVLA cases were sentenced in the court resulting in fees and costs totalling £25,000He entered a guilty plea to the charge of driving a vehicle without a valid licence.In an online form, the man outlined the health conditions he and his wife have and wrote that his daughter 'has control of my financial and health and welfare as lasting POA (power of attorney)'.He continued: 'She has to do much on keeping on top of everything for my wife and I.'We are both nearly 87. I have Parkinson's disease and my wife has Alzheimer's. (She) overlooked paying my tax renewal of £20.'She had moved address and we assumed the original letter or reminder re tax went to her old address.'The letter also set out that the vehicle is being sold 'as I am no longer capable of driving my car'.He added: 'I am not sure why I have received the Single Justice Procedure notice', ending with a plea to call his daughter 'to confirm this matter is resolved with no further action necessary'.Magistrate Lynda Briggs accepted the pensioner's guilty plea sparing him an additional fine, ending the case with a discharge and the £3.34 compensation order. On the same day as the man's conviction by the magistrate in Lincoln, 60 other defendants were sentenced in DVLA cases resulting in fines and court fees totalling £25,000. The case comes as the Government spent the last 17 months considering whether to reform the Single Justice Procedure, after reports emerged of elderly and vulnerable people receiving harsh convictions over unpaid bills.In the last week, 1,950 people across England and Wales were prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure for unpaid car tax-related offences.