subject: Jermain Defoe in latest motoring offences saga [print this page] Jermain Defoe in latest motoring offences saga
Footballer Jermain Defoe has appeared in court for the latest in his own saga of driving offences.
The 27 year old was arrested by police in October last year for using his mobile phone while driving along Chigwell Lane in Loughton.
Pleading guilty to these latest motoring offences, the Tottenham and England player was fined 800 and had a further three penalty points on his driving licence.He was also ordered by Chelmsford Magistrates Court to pay 930 in legal costs and 15 in victim surcharges.
Speaking to the Guardian Series, Frank O'Toole, District Crown Prosecutor said: " We take motoring offences very seriously and driving while using a mobile phone means the driver poses a significant danger to other road users as he is not giving his full attention to his driving or to the road."Having already committed a series of driving offences between 2008 and 2010, the footballer now has 11 points on his licence. With a ban on driving issued with 12 penalty points, the star is only one point away from having his licence revoked.
In January, he was ordered to pay 400 and incurred four points on his licence for driving at 45mph in a 30mph zone in May 2008. He was also disqualified from driving for six months in July 2008 and for a further six months in 2009 for speeding.
Defoe started his football career at the age of fourteen when he joined the youth team at Charlton Athletic before moving to West Ham United at sixteen. He spent the next few years developing new skills as a footballer with a highly productive loan spell at Bournemouth catapulting him into the West Ham first team.He has been with Tottenham Hotspur since 2004, spending a year with Portsmouth before returning to Spurs in 2009.
On a national level, Defoe has won 45 caps for England since 2004, scoring 15 goals, despite never playing a full 90 minutes.
