A man with a 'uniform fetish' who once stole a bus could lose his job as a bus driver after posing as a police officer.
Peter Higham was jailed for 10 months, and given a 17 month road ban, on Friday after being found guilty of dangerous driving and obstructing an officer in their duty.
The 38-year-old of Moor Lane, Walton, was spotted close to Sheil Road in Kensington at around 3am on April 22, 2018 and was stopped by two police officers.
A court heard that Higham was wearing an ear piece and had a torch but as officers started searching his hire vehicle, he sped off, leaving them hanging out of his car.
Judge Gary Woodhall jailed Higham saying that he clearly hadn't learnt his lesson, after previously impersonating members of the emergency services and earning himself the nickname "Fireman Sham".
Now, Higham could see himself losing his beloved job as a bus driver for Stagecoach who he started working for in 2015, less than 10 years after he was convicted of stealing an Arriva bus and accepting fares from passengers.
He was suspended from his jobs when Stagecoach were made aware of Higham's latest offences and have said they will now be carrying out an internal disciplinary process.
A spokesperson for Stagecoach Merseyside, Cheshire and South Lancashire, said: “The driver was suspended from all duties as soon as the company became aware of the court proceedings.
"Following the decision in court today, we will be proceeding with internal disciplinary action.”
When asked how Higham was able to get a job as a bus driver considering his past, Stagecoach told the ECHO that each driver is subject to background checks and in line with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, some previous convictions can be considered spent.
Discussing Higham's fascinaition with the emergency services and impersonating people in uniforms, Julian Linskill defending said: "It is almost, I suggest, verging on a fetish, which normally would be completely harmless, save for those items of police equipment which are capable of being described as, and are indeed, offensive weapons."
