A motoring organisation has criticised the sentence given to a man who repeatedly drove without a full licence and insurance.

Paul Christie, 19, of Chalk Road, Higham, has been convicted of 10 counts of driving without insurance and 10 counts of driving without a licence.

He also admitted 10 charges of making off without paying for fuel and one of shoplifting when he appeared before magistrates in Medway.

The court heard the offences were committed in Gravesend, Dartford, Longfield and Strood, when he drove to various garages filled up and made off without payment.

On various dates earlier this year, Christie drove several different cars to petrol stations and took more than £350 of fuel.

Each time he stole the fuel he was driving without a licence or insurance. He was still on a conditional discharge for a similar offence when he appeared in court for sentencing.

Christie was told to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work, banned him from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay £376 compensation and £85 costs.

Ian Crowder, from motoring organisation the AA, said: “Uninsured drivers are a motoring underclass who have no regard or respect for other road users.

“Driving without a licence or insurance is not a victimless crime. Uninsured drivers kill 130 and injure 26,000 people every year.

“Pay-outs by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, which is funded by the insurance industry, to the victims of uninsured drivers adds around £33 to the cost of every car insurance policy.

“And it is believed that up to one in every 35 cars in the UK is driven without valid insurance.

"Driving without a licence or insurance is not a victimless crime" - Ian Crowder

“And, over 69,000 unlicensed drivers were given points last year – despite not having a licence, these points are ‘stored’ until such time as the individual is granted a driving licence.

“These then are the bald statistics that demonstrate a shocking risk to British motorists from those who believe that they have the right to drive without cover and care even less for the potential consequences of doing so.

“The fixed penalty for drivers caught driving without insurance is £300 plus six penalty points but if a driver is taken to court, they are prosecuted and face an unlimited maximum fine and disqualification. Yet last year the average fine was just £300 and often much less than that. The penalty is means-tested and it does not attract a custodial sentence.”

Mr Crowder added that “the one sliver of a silver lining” in this case was that because Christie stole petrol, he was captured on automatic number plate recognition technology and subsequently stopped by police who found he was unlicensed and uninsured.”