Ex-magpies owner loses appeal over using phone while driving
FORMER Notts County owner Alan Hardy has lost a court appeal over using a mobile phone while driving his car.
After hearing evidence, a judge and two magistrates took just 10 minutes to throw out the 59-year-old’s claim that it was his son in the passenger seat showing him “bullying” messages on the device and not him “scrolling” through his messages while he was in stationary traffic.
Hardy told Nottingham Crown Court his phone was “switched off” and placed in the centre console of his vehicle. But the judge and his colleagues instead believed the evidence given by police officer Brendan Farrell who told the appeal hearing “I could see he had the phone in his right hand” as he pulled alongside him at a roundabout by the M1.
Dismissing Hardy’s appeal, Judge Mark Watson said: “Between the three of us, we have no hesitation at all, having heard the evidence, that the police officer was an honest and reliable witness. From the body-worn footage it is clear he (Hardy) was unhappy and his first reaction (after being pulled over) was to say he was not driving and it was only when he was cautioned a second time he said he was not using his phone.
“The appellant gave evidence before us which we disbelieved. His account was not a credible one and one that was manufactured so the appeal fails.”
The hearing was told how Hardy, of Bleasby Lane, Bleasby, was spotted by PC Farrell at the roundabout close to junction 26 of the M1 near Nuthall, at around 9.40pm on May 22, 2022. The officer said as he pulled alongside the appellant, who owns Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club, near Cotgrave, he saw him holding the mobile in his right hand and “scrolling through messages”.
PC Farrell was asked by defence barrister, James Findon: “Is there a chance the passenger was holding the phone and not the driver?” He replied: “No, there’s no chance of that.”
Hardy, giving evidence, said that on the day he had been to a friend’s house to watch the FA Cup final and was driving home with his son George – the former Rotherham United and now Wolves goalkeeper – who was in the passenger seat.
He said: “My son had been a bit distressed that day, he is normally the life and soul of the party. He is a professional footballer who plays for Wolves and football is everything to me. He said he’d had some bullying text messages.
“He read out some of the text messages and I said ‘it’s not good.’ I was being fatherly saying ‘yes, you had a bad game last week, everyone has a bad game, but don’t worry about it, mate.’”
Hardy said when he was pulled over by PC Farrell, he told the officer he was not using his mobile while driving. Asked by Mr Findon where his phone was, Hardy replied: “It was switched off in the centre console.”
Judge Watson upheld the previous punishment of a £500 fine, £620 costs, a £50 victim surcharge and a six-point endorsement on the Hardy’s licence and ordered him to pay a further £520 crown court costs.
In November, 2018, Hardy was banned from driving for three months after admitting speeding at 77mph in a 40mph zone on the A52, Clifton Boulevard.