A TAXI driver altered his vehicle's number plate to avoid paying the full fee to park in the drop-off zone at Belfast International Airport, a court heard yesterday.
Neil Diver (41) of Glen Road, Ballyclare, Co Antrim, changed the DRZ section of his number plate to BRZ a number of times over a month.
He was sentenced yesterday at Antrim Magistrates Court on 12 counts of fraud relating to the Q-Park.
The offences happened on dates between June 23 or July 18 last year.
He was jailed for two months suspended for two years.
Diver was also ordered to pay back the estimated £98 he saved himself.
When spoken to Diver protested that the parking charges at the airport were "extortionate".
A prosecutor said Diver, in court wearing a Value Cabs coat, altered his number plate to avoid full payment which started off at £1 and went up the longer the driver stayed in the drop-off zone.
Defence barrister Neil Moore said that despite working full-time as a taxi driver Diver had to pay off debts and had been "very frank and open" about what he did.
Explained Mr Moore: "He said he didn't know when flights were coming in and if there was a delay he had to pay."
District Judge Alan White said Diver should have paid the parking fees like every other taxi driver and said it was "persistent fraud over a period of time".
Diver was also fined £50.
