More rules broken but still driver walks free
A BANNED driver already on two suspended sentences has been given yet another chance after being caught behind the wheel once again.
Kelly McGiven was banned from the roads after initially totting up penalty points but it failed to stop her travelling around Newcastle in her car.
The 38-year-old was first pulled over in a Fiat Punto in July 2019 and later given a suspended sentence after she admitted driving while disqualified.
However, temptation soon got the better of her and, just eight months later, she was stopped once again, this time travelling in her Renault Clio.
A court heard that she was given a second suspended sentence for that offence.
However, McGiven continued to prove she was failing to learn her lesson after she was caught driving her Citroen Xsara in Newcastle on two further occasions, last June and in March this year.
The motor menace, of Armstrong Road, in Benwell, has now amassed four convictions for driving while disqualified in just 20 months when she pleaded guilty to the latest set of offences at North Tyneside Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.
She also admitted two related charges of driving with no insurance. But, having heard that McGiven was co-operating with the Probation Service, magistrates decided not to send her immediately to prison but to defer her sentence for two months.
If she manages to stay out of trouble within that period, she may escape a spell behind bars.
Outlining the latest case,
James Long, prosecuting, said: “On June 20 last year, an officer was on patrol and he sees the defendant driving a Citroen Xsara in Kenton in the mid-afternoon.
“He stopped the vehicle and spoke with the defendant. She was, at that time, a disqualified driver and had no insurance.
“Moving on to the next offence, which happened this week, an officer was on mobile patrol and is driving along Glebe Street at the junction with Condercum Road.
“He sees the defendant and recognises her having had previous dealings with her. The vehicle is stopped and she’s arrested.”
Mr Long said McGiven had a “significant history” of driving while disqualified and was in breach of the two suspended sentences.
Alanna Wesencraft, defending, said McGiven had been co-operating with the Probation Service but was suffering with mental health problems, which had recently deteriorated.
The solicitor added: “She looks after various members of her family with their health issues.”
The conditions of McGiven’s deferred sentence are that she must not commit any further offences and continue to attend appointments with the Probation Service.
She will return to the same court on May 17 to find out her final sentence.