Judge ruled losing his driving licence would cause misery for pet parrots and Alsatian

A DRIVER escaped a road ban after a judge ruled losing his licence would cause misery for his pet parrots and Alsatian.

Animal lover Anthony Rinaldi was facing a six-month ban after police caught him at the wheel of his van on his mobile phone.

The 49-year-old was already on nine points for other driving offences before appearing at Paisley Justice of the Peace court.

But he escaped disqualification after Justice of the Peace Alexander Clark agreed with lawyer Richard Freeman that a driving ban would lead to “exceptional hardship” for his pet parrots and 10-year-old Alsatian dog, Ryker.

Last night Anthony said he was “very happy” but also “shocked” the court had sided with him.

Relieved Anthony said: “When my wife left a couple of years ago she left me with Ryker, who I bought for her and our two African grey parrots, Maisy and Gabe.

“They are a big part of my life. I love my pets.

“It’s been a terrible couple of years and got worse when I was facing losing my job after being caught on my phone.

“But I was genuine and just told them how it would affect my life.”

Successfully arguing a ban will impact on someone linked to a defendant is difficult and rare.

The rule only usually applies in cases where close family members are likely to suffer.

Even then there is a high burden of proof required to satisfy Scottish courts far higher than in England.

In this case, it was argued a ban would lead to Anthony, of Paisley, Renfrewshire, losing his job as an engineer.

That would have made it impossible for him to cover his mortgage and sizeable pet expenses, including a dog walker for Ryker.

His brief also argued that if he fell behind on his mortgage payments, it would be very hard for him to find a rented property for such a menagerie.

Solicitor Advocate and road traffic specialist lawyer, Richard Freeman, of Richard Freeman & Company, said: “What made this case unusual is our client didn’t have any dependent family but had a dog and two parrots.

“What persuaded the JP this case was exceptional was he was satisfied my client would find it very difficult to be re-employed until long after the period of disqualification was over, because of the specialist nature of his current job.

“It was a brave but right decision by the JP.”

Being caught on your mobile phone while driving carries an automatic penalty of three points and a fine of £100.

Normally, going over the 12-point threshold on your licence means an automatic six-month ban.

Anthony who was caught red- handed by police in June last year is delighted he’s dodged the long arm of the law.

“I was very happy the court agreed with my case,” he added.

Former Rangers manager Stuart McCall was not so lucky in court, however. He was handed a six-month ban after a judge threw out similar claims. The Scotland legend had argued he needed his car to visit his frail dad in England.