Banned Sunderland driver caught on road trip to Blackpool

A Sunderland mum admitted to police she was on her way to Blackpool when caught flouting a drink drive roads’ ban, a court heard.

But Stacey Curtis’ admission to illegally motoring was not the towering confession it at first seemed, her solicitor insisted when she appeared before magistrates in South Tyneside.

John Williams said Curtis, 32, of Villette Path, Hendon, had planned to only drive the first two miles of the 140-mile journey before swapping places with a male friend.

She was spotted at the wheel of a Ford Eco Sport on Friday, July 21, just five months into an 18-month disqualification.

The mother-of-three pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified and without insurance - and magistrates adjourned her case for the preparation of a pre-sentence report.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “She has one conviction and that was for driving with excess alcohol in February.

“She was stopped driving in July by police. She made full admission and said she was going to Blackpool.

“It’s a starting point of 12 weeks. She was driving and going to Blackpool but was going to pick someone else up.”

Mr Williams added: “It’s a recently imposed ban, it was in April of this year and was for 18 months.

“She is the mother of three children and had been having a significant amount of threats and abuse from the father of her older two children. The police have been informed.

“On the day she drove the car, the female partner came around to the house and was banging and making threats.

“The first call should have been to the police, but she spoke to a friend and decided to go with the three children to Blackpool.

“She was meeting the male first and he was going to drive. She was not going to drive to Blackpool. She had driven about two miles.”

Magistrates granted Curtis unconditional bail to be sentenced at the same court on Tuesday, October 10.