Wife drove car at husband in affair with former pupil
A WIFE knocked over her teacher husband with her car after discovering he had an affair with a former pupil, screaming “she’s only 18”.
Maria Addis, 34, a Barnado’s charity worker, drove her Chevrolet at her husband, Mark, 37, a PE teacher, after learning about his fling with the teenager. Mr Addis, her husband of 15 years, was confronted by his wife over his affair with Lucy Gill. The two are now believed to be in a relationship.
Addis was due to stand trial for dangerous driving but changed her plea to avoid “airing her dirty laundry in public”. A judge described the public spat as a “stupid incident” that did no credit to any one.
Jeremy Jenkins, defending, said: “Things got out of hand against a background where Addis was seeking to get the truth from her husband about an extramarital affair. This was not a woman who had lost her temper but a woman who was trying to reason with her former husband.”
He added: “It was a misjudgement to move the car forward in the direction of her former husband but it was brought about by the circumstances that prevailed at the time. She was candid in interview and accepted that the situation got the better of her.”
Addis and her husband were seen arguing in the street in Glyncoch near Pontypridd, South Wales, where she was heard shouting about the girl’s age.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard how her husband was demanding his mobile phone back because he did not want her to see “certain messages” on it. Addis, a mother of two, pushed him into a bush before locking herself in the family car. Her husband stood in front of the vehicle with his arms outstretched, then banged on the car.
Addis was then seen by a witness edging forward at 2mph and “nudging” her husband, who fell to the ground clutching his leg.
Hywel Hughes, prosecuting, said the car caused him “to move backwards and fall to the ground. The man was holding his left leg and groaning.”
Addis, of Church Village, near Pontypridd, denied dangerous driving and common assault. But she admitted careless driving in May rather than face the “tawdry affair” going to trial.
The judge ordered the assault charge to lie on file and the court was told that she was glad that the case had “finally come to an end”.
Addis was fined £500 and had seven penalty points imposed on her licence.
Judge Richard Twomlow told her: “This was a stupid incident and did not bring much credit on any participant.”
Mr Addis, a PE teacher at Aberdare Community School, and Miss Gill both declined to comment after the case. He is listed on Facebook as being “in a relationship” with the former pupil, who is now a financial planner.