Helen Flanagan has been banned from driving for six months and has been ordered to pay £3,000 in fines after her Audi was clocked speeding. The former Coronation Street star was convicted on two counts of failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a vehicle when required.
The mum-of-three was handed the ban at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday. She was sentenced after her car was caught travelling at 42mph in a 30mph zone on Scotland Road, near to the junction with Dryden Street, in Liverpool, at 1.16pm on June 6, 2023.
The court heard how she failed to respond to notices of intended prosecution, asking her to identify who was behind the wheel of her Audi Q7 when it was caught speeding. Flanagan claimed she believed her boyfriend Robbie Talbot responded to police notices in order to identify himself as the driver.
As reported in the Mirror, she said: “I suppose my boyfriend could use my car but I would feel quite angry. After all, he was the one that got the speeding offences. I’m so sorry. It was pure stupidity. I really thought that it was acceptable for my boyfriend to reply on my behalf and I thought he needed to. I would feel really angry if my boyfriend was to take that away from me and drive my car.”
On imposing a ban, the former actress told the court getting a taxi every day would be “very expensive” for her, with the father of her three children, Scott Sinclair, living elsewhere.
She said: “I did get an Uber to my son’s nursery today. That cost £10. If I was doing that all the time, it would be very, very expensive for me.”
She said she meets Sinclair, a former Celtic star, with their children at Freckley Services as a half way point with between their locations.
Flanagan added: “It’s really important to my children to see their dad. It would be impossible for me to get a driver. It would be far too expensive. My boyfriend doesn’t have a car. It would be very difficult for me to get there. I would hate to put a burden on my parents. They’re in their late 60s. It’s a little bit difficult for me to talk about.”
Speaking during sentencing, Chairman David Holley said: “There will be a fine in respect of both offences of £1,000, £2,000 in total. In addition there will be six penalty points for each offence. In the normal course of events, you would be disqualified from driving today.
“We have listened carefully to everything said today, in particular we take into account the arguments in relation to your three children, the impact your children’s father would suffer, your current partner and the impact a ban would have on your mental health.
“It is a high bar to pass and it is inevitable that every disqualification comes with an element of hardship. We are not satisfied that you or those around you would suffer exceptional hardship if you were disqualified from driving.”
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