Down, Paul

Paul Down was convicted on 25 May 2024 at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court of driving without due care and attention. He received six penalty points on his licence and a £1,000 fine. He was also ordered to pay costs.  

Mr Down was driving an HGV on the M5 motorway in August 2023 when officers in an unmarked police car claimed to have observed the vehicle swerving in the inside lane and over the hard shoulder line. After pulling alongside Mr Down, the officers further stated that they observed the HGV cross into the middle lane, nearly colliding with the police car. 

Mr Down was prosecuted and pleaded not guilty. Dashcam evidence was shown at trial, and the officers who had stopped Mr Down gave evidence. Mr Down was found guilty.  

An appeal against conviction at the Crown Court was dismissed in June 2024. Mr Down applied to the CCRC in December 2024.  

As part of its review, the CCRC received the report of an expert, newly commissioned by Mr Down’s solicitors to analyse the dashcam footage used at trial.  The report found that at no point in the dashcam footage could Mr Down’s vehicle be seen to have encroached on or crossed over any of the lane lines. 

The CCRC concluded that this report would be admissible at court and went to the central issue in the case. Therefore, Mr Down’s defence at a rehearing would be strengthened by this new evidence, in that the expert could be called to testify and his report used in cross-examination of the officers.  

The CCRC therefore found that there was a real possibility that Mr Down’s conviction would not be upheld by the Crown Court.