A man has been made to cough up almost £7,000 after failing to identify the driver of a van caught speeding along the Dartford Bridge.

The same Vauxhall Vivaro was caught speeding over the QE2 bridge a total of nine times in two months.

As the driver of the van was not clear in the vehicle, the registered owner, Tomas Panumis, was summoned to court to pay the fines.

However, the 34 year old man, who lives in Beeston Courts, Basildon, failed to reply to prosecution notices and then failed to turn up to court appearances.

He was given his sentence in his absence at Southend Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, October 10.

He was ordered to pay a £5,940 fine, £765 in court costs and a £66 victim surcharge, and was disqualified from driving for two years.

Penny Ginzler, case management officer at Essex Police’s Casualty Reduction Team, said: “Panumis failed to respond to our notices as the registered driver of a vehicle involved with speeding. He then failed to confirm who was driving his vehicle and did not attend court.

“He believed that by simply ignoring our notices and the court process that our investigations would get dropped, he thought wrong. 

“We will continue to investigate and bring drivers who flout our laws through the courts, which can lead to hefty fines, disqualification and in some cases prison sentences.”

His van was caught prolifically speeding along the A282 between January 19 and March 28 of this year.