Ed Sheeran fined over uninsured Aston Martin during restoration

Sheeran was ordered by court to pay a £666 fine, along with £100 in court costs and a £266 victim surcharge

Ed Sheeran has been fined after accidentally failing to insure his classic Aston Martin while it was undergoing restoration and being converted into an electric vehicle, with the singer insisting the oversight was a genuine administrative misunderstanding.

The Shape of You singer was ordered by Bradford Magistrates' Court to pay a £666 fine, along with £100 in court costs and a £266 victim surcharge, after pleading guilty to keeping a motor vehicle that did not meet insurance requirements. The case was dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure on July 31. 

Sheeran explained in a letter to the court that his silver 1966 Aston Martin has been at Aston Workshop Ltd since 2021, where it has remained off public roads while undergoing a full restoration and conversion to electric power. He said he genuinely believed the workshop's comprehensive insurance policy covered the vehicle throughout the process.

"I have at no point had physical possession or practical control of the vehicle," Sheeran wrote, adding that the car has been inoperable throughout the restoration and posed "no risk to third parties". He also said he never received the DVLA's initial offer to settle the matter out of court and would have paid it immediately had he known about it.

The Grammy-winning musician apologised for taking up the court's time and stressed that the case did not involve deliberately avoiding insurance or driving an uninsured vehicle. He has since declared the Aston Martin off the road through a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) while work on the classic car continues.