A driver who used a magnet to create false tachograph records “for his own convenience” has been banned from vocational driving for three years.

North West traffic commissioner Simon Evans said St Helens-based Christopher Champion manipulated his driving records in a “dishonest fashion”.

The offence was discovered when his HGV was stopped by Suffolk Police in August 2016. The tachograph showed he was taking a rest when the vehicle was actually being driven.

When the truck was examined the following day, the DVSA found that a magnet was attached to the tachograph’s sender unit, interrupting the signal. He had committed 13 offences in total.

On one particular occasion the tachograph recorded a daily rest of more than 18 hours, but ANPR cameras showed the vehicle being driven five hours into the purported rest period.

At a driver conduct hearing earlier this month, Champion admitted to using the magnet and claimed it was the only way he could keep his job. He said he regretted his actions.

Evans told Champion: “On numerous occasions over a period of two and a half months you manipulated records in a dishonest fashion for your own convenience.

“Driving while tired places at risk the lives of other drivers, as well as members of the public and yourself”.

Evans recently warned that drivers who falsify tachograph records will face strict disciplinary action.