A student has been fined for driving a car without any doors, lights or bonnet - and using his arms to indicate when turning.
Sam Wilson mistakenly believed the Peugeot 306 was still legal to drive, despite the missing doors, headlights, indicators, bonnet and brake lights, because it had a valid MOT certificate.
The 25-year-old drove the car, described by police as a 'skeleton of a vehicle', for almost three miles before he was pulled over.
Wilson, who studies electrical engineering at college and works part-time as a pizza delivery man, was attempting to take it to a recycling centre five miles from his home in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, to sell for scrap. He had already removed a selection of parts to sell online.
After the hearing, Wilson said: 'The car didn't have any lights on it, but my argument was that it was daylight. It didn't have any signals either, but I used arm signals to indicate.'
Wilson added he thought the car was safe to drive because it still had an MOT certificate - and said he hadn't removed any of what he thought were key working parts.
He said there were kit cars on the road that also lacked features such as doors and lights.
Wilson, who studies electrical engineering at college, said: 'I only did it so I could get more money back for the car.
In court: Sam Wilson, from Bingham, Notts, was fined £110 after he was found guilty of using a vehicle when its use involved a danger of injury to a person
'I wouldn't have driven it if I didn't think it was safe for the road.
'I was starting college and I was only going to get £150 at the scrapyard, so I thought if I took the doors off and a few other parts I could get more money back.'
He added he had 'learned his lesson' and 'wouldn't make the same mistake again'.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: 'There are strict rules governing the safety of vehicles in this country.
'It wouldn't have taken much to realise that the skeleton of a vehicle Wilson was trying to drive on the carriageway was not roadworthy.
'It beggars belief that he thought he could drive it without anyone having concerns.
'In doing so he put the safety of himself and others at risk. We had to take action.'
The car was eventually collected for scrap and Wilson was paid £70. He has since bought a new Peugeot.
A spokesman for the AA said: 'It's plan daft to strip everything off a car and then drive it on a public road.
'The main point here is that cars are designed to minimise crashes and injuries.
'If a car that has been stripped of its body work then hits a pedestrian, there's a risk sharp edges that would have been covered up could cause much worse injuries to the person involved.
'Also, new cars have day time headlights that warn pedestrians a car is heading their way. If these are removed, then the pedestrian won't have that extra time to see the car coming towards them.
'If this person had hit someone, and his alterations to the car made the difference as to whether the pedestrian survived or not, he could have been in a lot more trouble than he is now.
'He has got off lightly.'
I like how the AA spokesman says "new cars are fitted with day time headlights"
Did he forget it was a 306
Sam Wilson mistakenly believed the Peugeot 306 was still legal to drive, despite the missing doors, headlights, indicators, bonnet and brake lights, because it had a valid MOT certificate.
The 25-year-old drove the car, described by police as a 'skeleton of a vehicle', for almost three miles before he was pulled over.
Wilson, who studies electrical engineering at college and works part-time as a pizza delivery man, was attempting to take it to a recycling centre five miles from his home in Bingham, Nottinghamshire, to sell for scrap. He had already removed a selection of parts to sell online.
After the hearing, Wilson said: 'The car didn't have any lights on it, but my argument was that it was daylight. It didn't have any signals either, but I used arm signals to indicate.'
Wilson added he thought the car was safe to drive because it still had an MOT certificate - and said he hadn't removed any of what he thought were key working parts.
He said there were kit cars on the road that also lacked features such as doors and lights.
Wilson, who studies electrical engineering at college, said: 'I only did it so I could get more money back for the car.
In court: Sam Wilson, from Bingham, Notts, was fined £110 after he was found guilty of using a vehicle when its use involved a danger of injury to a person
'I wouldn't have driven it if I didn't think it was safe for the road.
'I was starting college and I was only going to get £150 at the scrapyard, so I thought if I took the doors off and a few other parts I could get more money back.'
He added he had 'learned his lesson' and 'wouldn't make the same mistake again'.
A spokesman for Nottinghamshire Police said: 'There are strict rules governing the safety of vehicles in this country.
'It wouldn't have taken much to realise that the skeleton of a vehicle Wilson was trying to drive on the carriageway was not roadworthy.
'It beggars belief that he thought he could drive it without anyone having concerns.
'In doing so he put the safety of himself and others at risk. We had to take action.'
The car was eventually collected for scrap and Wilson was paid £70. He has since bought a new Peugeot.
A spokesman for the AA said: 'It's plan daft to strip everything off a car and then drive it on a public road.
'The main point here is that cars are designed to minimise crashes and injuries.
'If a car that has been stripped of its body work then hits a pedestrian, there's a risk sharp edges that would have been covered up could cause much worse injuries to the person involved.
'Also, new cars have day time headlights that warn pedestrians a car is heading their way. If these are removed, then the pedestrian won't have that extra time to see the car coming towards them.
'If this person had hit someone, and his alterations to the car made the difference as to whether the pedestrian survived or not, he could have been in a lot more trouble than he is now.
'He has got off lightly.'
I like how the AA spokesman says "new cars are fitted with day time headlights"
Did he forget it was a 306