AN EAST Lancashire man has been convicted for his part in a £1million driving test scam where he sat tests for unqualified motorists.

The conspiracy saw a driving instructor and his friends charging learner drivers up to £1,000 each to get licences.

Police said thousands of the scams took place across the country but it started to unravel after one of the men was discovered trying to take a test in Chorley for another man.

Police said that the fake licenses had been sold to people from a range of backgrounds.

Now seven of the gang, including Mohammed Zameer, 27, of Willows Lane, Accrington, have been convicted of obtaining property by deception.

The ringleader, Mohammed Zahid, of Egerton Road South, Manchester, was jailed for 10 months and ordered to pay £1,700 under the Proceeds of Crime Act at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, having earlier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

Zameer and six others, mostly from the Manchester area, received a three-month jail sentence suspended for two years, a two-month-long curfew and a 12-month driving ban.

Police said the gang were caught after a pattern of suspected impersonations began to emerge at driving test centres across the country in March, 2005.

After the case investigating officer, Detective Constable Darren Grafton said: "This blatant abuse of the Driving Standards Agency system could have had serious implications for road users.

"Having unqualified people on the roads puts other road users at risk. They would never have been able to prove that they could drive to safe and legal standards and their inability to do this could have cost lives.

"I am delighted with the sentences given and it should act as a very strong warning to anyone who tries to abuse the system."

He said that the gang operated at locations across the country to avoid being discovered with members all sitting both theory and practical tests.

The other men who pleaded guilty to obtaining property by deception were Saquib Gul, 25, of Manchester Road, Tyldesley, Irshad Hussain, 33, of Chamber Road, Oldham, Asif Butt, 33, of no fixed address, Mohammed Munir Choudhary, 34, of Birmingham.

Mohammed Akhtar, 34, of Longden Road, Longsight, denied the charge but was jailed for four months and disqualified from driving for 18 months following a trial.

Two men, both alleged to have sat tests, are still wanted by police. Muhammed Nadeem, 35, and Sajid Shah, 28, were arrested but have gone missing.

Police said Zahid was central to the conspiracy. He was an instructor who had access to customers he would charge in return for others taking driving tests on their behalf.

On 7 June 2005 a man claiming to be Mohammed Choudhary of Castleford Road, Birmingham, went to Chorley test centre to sit his driving test.

The examiner realised the photograph on the licence did not match the person present, and police were alerted.

Officers said this was one example of how impostors were taking, or attempting to take tests.

Andrew Rice, head of fraud and integrity for the Driving Standards Agency said: "We are delighted with the sentences imposed on these offenders as it reflects the seriousness of the offences committed.

"Those who impersonate candidates at driving tests present a significant danger to road safety as they gain entitlement to drive for those who are unable, or unwilling, to undertake the assessment to prove that they meet the required standard to drive on our roads.

"We investigate all reported cases and work closely with the police and criminal justice agencies to identify offenders and bring them to justice.