Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Blind man caught speeding keeps disability pension

A blind Spanish man caught in a radar trap driving 100mph has been allowed to keep his disability pension after proving he could not see.

Benefit officials tried to strip the disability allowance from Domingo Merino after he was snapped doing 154kmh (98mph) near Barcelona.He also faced having to repay a £360,000 insurance payment for the loss of his sight in a car accident in 1996. Insurers Mapfre said the charge proved he could see.

But a Barcelona court threw out the claims after Merino explained he had wanted to drive one more time. He said he had persuaded his wife to sit beside him telling where to steer as he travelled along a straight stretch of road.

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