Learner driver of £70,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost V12 is stopped by police and located to have NO insurance coverage
A learner driver of a £70,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost V12 was stopped by police – and found to be behind the wheel of the pricey vehicle with absolutely no insurance.
Spotting the very noticeable luxury car in the Whitechapel area of east London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, stunned officers pulled the driver over on Thursday.
But after chatting to the motorist, the cops from Tower Hamlets Police discovered that not only did they have no insurance – they only had a provisional licence too.
The expensive vehicle, produced in 2012, boasts a smooth, powerful V12 engine, with the Ghost model a classic Rolls-Royce creation, first made in 1906.
The Rolls-Royce was quickly seized from where it was stopped on Stepney Way – just outside the old outpatients department of the Royal London Hospital, now vacant after it moved sites in 2012 – and the driver was sent to court.
Pictures from Tower Hamlets Police posted on X on Thursday evening show the matte finish, black car – complete with personalised number plate – loaded on to the back of a police tow truck for sending to the pound.
Despite the good condition the vehicle looked to be in, the grill at the front of the car was found to have a dent in it, on further inspection.
In the caption of the force’s social media post, a Tower Hamlets Police spokesperson said: ‘One rather expensive car off to the pound and driver off to court.’
A learner driver of a £70,000 Rolls-Royce Ghost V12 was stopped by police – and found to be behind the wheel of the pricey vehicle with absolutely no insurance. It was loaded on to the back of a police tow truck (pictured) for sending to the pound
Spotting the very noticeable luxury car in the Whitechapel area of east London, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, stunned officers pulled the driver over on Thursday – and found the motorist had no insurance and only a provisional license. Despite the good condition the vehicle looked to be in, the grill was found to be dented (pictured), on further inspection
They added: ‘Officers spotted this Rolls-Royce in Whitechapel.
‘Driver stopped and spoken to and after a few enquiries it was identified that the driver only had a provisional licence and no insurance either.’
Analysis of the number plate by MailOnline shows the vehicle is taxed until April and has its MOT due in November. It meets ULEZ emissions standards.
Commenters on the post by Tower Hamlets Police were shocked at the seizure of such an expensive vehicle – and were suspicious of the fact a driver without insurance and a full licence was able to drive it.
One commented: ‘Next look into how they were able to afford that car.’
Another, who seemed to know the area well, said: ‘Driving a motor like that on a provisional and no insurance in and around that area is just madness!’
Someone else said cynically: ‘They’ll worm their way out of it like every other wealthy person.’
One stated: ‘Solo driving on a provisional and no insurance in Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)’s day and age is insane.’
In the caption of a post on X by Tower Hamlets Police on Thursday evening (pictured), a spokesperson for the force said: ‘One rather expensive car off to the pound and driver off to court’
Commenters (pictured) on the post by Tower Hamlets Police were shocked at the seizure of such an expensive vehicle
They were also suspicious (pictured) of the fact a driver without insurance and a full licence was able to drive it
One said cynically: ‘They’ll worm their way out of it like every other wealthy person’
Last August, the Metropolitan Police seized around 60 supercars in just week across central London – amounting to a value of around £6million.
The dedicated operation, run with Westminster City Council and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), saw cars including a Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, Lamborghini, McClaren and Bentley seized, mostly due to the driver not being insured.
It came as residents in the Westminster area complained of anti-social behaviour by drivers of luxury cars, who would often pass through at high speed.
Five arrests were made during that week. MIB’s head of enforcement Martin Saunders said at the time: ‘Our message is clear: high-value cars are not exempt from insurance requirements.’
When approached for comment by MailOnline about the seizure of the Rolls-Royce in Tower Hamlets, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said: ‘We’ve nothing further to add to our local team’s tweet.’
