Jail for village squire who gave false name of dead friend to dodge driving ban

As the squire of Wolvey Hall, Richard Coape-Arnold has a certain reputation to uphold.

So when he was caught drink-driving, he decided to keep the family name out of it.

Coape-Arnold, 61, assumed the name of a friend who had died 11 years previously - and was prosecuted under the bogus identity, escaping with a fine and driving ban.

But the ruse went wrong when his local newspaper photographed him getting behind the wheel outside court - and villagers called in to reveal his true identity.

Yesterday Coape-Arnold, a father of three, was coming to terms with his foolishness in a prison cell after being jailed for six months.

The 61-year-old squire of 24-room Wolvey Hall near Hinckley, Leicestershire, was stopped at the wheel of his 4x4 in April last year.

He told police he was Michael Bradley and faced Market Harborough magistrates under that name in June.

He was fined £125 with £75 costs and banned from driving for 20 months after pleading guilty.

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Moments later, he was pictured reversing a vehicle in a nearby car park for his sister Mary Freeman.

Coape-Arnold was jailed at Leicester Crown Court after admitting acts tending and intended to pervert the course of justice.

Graham Buchanan, defending, said it was "astonishing" his client was not asked to produce his driving licence, which would have blown his cover.

He said Coape-Arnold, who lost his second wife, Maureen, to a brain tumour three years ago - had given police his real address and phone number.

"Technically he is squire of the place where he lives, although his relatives live in the baronial hall while he has more modest accommodation on the estate.

"He was trying to protect the family name from being dragged through the gutter.

"Now the family name has gone through more than one gutter because of his crass stupidity."

Judge Ian Collis told Coape-Arnold he gave the bogus name to "get away" with what he had done.

"You would have been in a position to have driven because if you'd been stopped you could have produced your own documents."

The Coape-Arnold family - whose motto is Ut Vivas Vigira, or Watch That You May Live - has been associated with Wolvey Hall since the 18th century.

Coape-Arnold has a bedroom there but his sister said he spends his time in a caravan on the land, or with his "lady friends".

Mrs Freeman, 65, said: "I don't ask too many questions as I'm not his keeper."

She said that when her brother was photographed he was reversing the car out of a tight spot for her because she is a nervous driver.

She added: "Richard turned to drink after the death of his second wife.

He had also worked as an undertaker and struggled to cope with the sights he witnessed doing that job.

"I didn't have a clue he had used a false name in court.

"I couldn't believe it when I saw the newspaper report but when I asked him what he thought he was playing at, he just started crying."

Explaining why the squire of Wolvey Hall had to work as an undertaker, she added: "The hall is owned by a family trust and is passed from generation to generation.

"We are not monied people and although the hall is beautiful, it is hardly Blenheim Palace."