Mother and son face charges

A MOTHER and son from Worksop appeared before Magistrates after the son was caught driving without a licence or insurance.

Karen and Matthew Lloyd Johnson from Sunnybank in Worksop were before the court on Monday 20th August where they both pleaded guilty to charges.

The 18-year-old Matthew admitted driving a Peugot 308 on St Anne’s Drive on 4th March without a licence or third party insurance. A police officer stopped and quizzed the teen at the Total petrol station at around 2.25am.

The court heard how on the day Matthew was caught, his mother had tried to set him up to be insured on the vehicle, but due to a computer error the application was rejected. Mrs Johnson, 53, was charged with permitting her son to drive without insurance.

However, the teen still only had a provisional driver’s licence and was not authorised to be behind the wheel unsupervised.

The court heard how Matthew acted ‘prematurely’ in taking the car out on the road alone.

The pair’s defence told the court how following Matthew’s premature birth, the instruments that doctors used on his mouth and lungs damaged his vocal chords - rendering him unable to speak for much of his life. The court heard how Matthew had ‘done very well for himself’ and was set to be taken on by a shop-fitting firm.

Sentencing the pair, District Judge Miss Baker said that Matthew’s behaviour was ‘extremely dangerous’.

She added: “This was out of character for you both and I can see that you are both people of good character.”

Both were endorsed eight points on their licences and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a £15 victim surcharge each. Mrs Johnson was fined £200 and her son was fined £130.

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