A DRY CLEANER to the stars who ignored a driving ban so he could deliver a wedding dress to a bride has been spared jail.

Award-winning businessman Adil Zafar secured the contract to clean costumes for the new Fast and Furious spin-off film that was shot in Glasgow this month.

The 31-year-old, who owns Harrods Dry Cleaners, in Bridge of Weir, also does dry cleaning for River City and looked after clothes used in Avengers: Infinity War when it was shot in Scotland.

But as well as looking after clothes worn by the likes of Robert Downey Jr., Benedict Cumberbatch, Dwayne Johnson and Idris Elba, Zafar has a host of other clients.

And it was going above and beyond for a bride-to-be that landed him in the dock at Paisley Sheriff Court.

Earlier this year, Zafar ignored a driving ban to take a wedding dress to a bride but ran out of petrol near Glasgow Airport.

Procurator fiscal depute Pamela Flynn previously told the court that Zafar came to the attention of police in Paisley at around 6.30pm on June 17 this year.

She said: “Police officers attended Glasgow Airport in relation to another matter. There was a broken down black Mercedes Vito in the inside lane, with its hazard warning lights illuminated.

“They noted the car was registered to a dry cleaners in Bridge of Weir.”

Zafar then came walking along to his car, carrying a can of diesel.
Miss Flynn said: “He apologised for the car in the roadway and said he had driven from Bridge of Weir and ran out of fuel. He said he had recently started a dry cleaning business and was doing well and was working all day every day to try and keep up with the demand.

“He also said he was trying to deliver a wedding dress to a bride-to-be.”

However, police checks revealed that Zafar, of Glasgow, had been banned from the roads in January this year for dangerous driving, meaning he was disqualified when he was delivering the wedding dress.

As he called for background reports to be prepared ahead of sentencing and adjourned the case for that to be done, Sheriff Colin Pettigrew warned Zafar he could be jailed.

However, when Zafar returned to the dock last week, defence solicitor Charlie McCusker asked Sheriff Pettigrew to spare him prison.

Mr McCusker said: “He has a contract with the BBC for things like River City and also films, like The Avengers, when they were here.

“It just so happens the Fast and the Furious have taken over Glasgow just now and he also is doing the work for them as well.”

Sheriff Pettigrew pointed out that Zafar was banned from the roads a week after being caught at Glasgow Airport, for again driving while disqualified, in a case that has already been dealt with.

But he ruled he could deal with him without sending him to jail.

Instead, Sheriff Pettigrew fined Zafar £1,800, reduced from £2,400, and banned him from driving for 17 months, reduced from 22 months.

He told him: “You clearly put more into your business than to obeying the law. I consider it to be a blatant breach of a disqualification.”