SPEEDING FINES & POINTS COULD BE REFUNDED!

Essex Police have found themselves in a worrying position this week as the lawyer employed by England and Tottenham Hotspur football player, Jermain Defoe to fight against two separate speeding fines for travelling at 81mph and 65mph in a 50mph zone on the M11 near Chigwell and two counts of not telling police who was behind the wheel at the time (for which the charges carry 18 penalty points) has uncovered a loophole which could cost them millions of pounds.

Mr. Defoe’s lawyer has suggested that a worker at the safety camera unit of Essex Police did not have the authorisation from the Chief Constable to sign section 20 certificates which are produced when drivers plead not guilty to speeding allegations. This claim is currently being investigated by Essex Police and the Crime Prosecution Service, but in the meantime, Mr. Defoe has been granted a stay of execution.

It has been suggested that the alleged blunder could cost Essex Police many millions of pounds as drivers who pleaded not guilty reclaim money from fines, legal costs and also compensation for increased insurance premiums, losing their jobs, homes and perhaps even their marriages. It is said that drivers who pleaded guilty to speeding offences may also have a case to appeal as the evidence presented to them may have been 'false'. A spokesman for Essex Police has stated that this issue would only affect a proportion of cases heard in the magistrates court since March 2007. The court is due to reconvene in two weeks to consider this matter. We will keep you 'up to speed'...!!