A former Hollyoaks and Footballer's Wives actress has talked her way out of a road ban for speeding because she argued that her son needed to be driven to football practice.
Phina Oruche, 52, faced a driving disqualification after a speed trap camera caught her driving her blue Fiat 500 at 36mph one one occasion and 37mph on another in a 30mph zone over a six-week period earlier this year. The TV star, known for playing the role of Gabby Sharpe in Hollyoaks, asked the court to not ban her because her son was a "gifted" footballer who "wants to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo".
She added that the 14-year-old landed a two-year contract with League two club Crewe Alexandra and needed someone to drive him to the club's training ground in Cheshire - a 38-mile journey from the family home in Liverpool. She also argued that he was too young to get the train to the club on his own.
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She said: "There is no way he is going intercity at 14." Ms Oruche also claimed that she was under the impression she was driving in a 40mph zone at the time she was caught by the camera.
She added: "'I am not falling out of a car drunk or speeding on the highway. I absolutely accelerated at that light because I thought I could. I'm not speeding all around Liverpool.” Appearing at Wirral magistrates court, Ms Oruche admitted to speeding and was hit with a £40 fine as well as £134 in costs and victim surcharge.
However, JPs accepted she would suffer "exceptional hardships" if she was banned from driving her car. The court heard how the actress is also a children's author and active anti-racism campaigner who already had nine points on her licence when she was caught speeding on Garston Way, Dock Road, south Liverpool on January 14 and then February 27.
While holding back tears, Ms Oruche told the hearing: "I have a 14-year-old son who is gifted athletically. He has a two-year contract with Crewe Alexandra, needs to be there four times a week to train and needs to go on long-distance trips at weekends.
"He has worked hard since he was eight years old to get where he is. I do not have to have a car for me, but I need a car for my son."
She added: "It's an incredibly intense commitment. They play away games which can involve long journeys. We have been as far as Sussex, Brighton and Hove and Worcester.”
When questioned whether her son could take public transport, she responded: "Even though he is a gifted athlete, he's still a teenager and still needs his mum to make sure that is only playing football. There is no way he is going intercity at 14."
"He would probably have to drop out if I was disqualified. He would flatline. He wants to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo. I have worked really hard to keep him focused and his passion is working out for him. It would seem a harsh step if he had to lose that."
“I need to keep my license for my kid, for my boy, to keep him on track," she said. "He does not need to be punished because I was caught in a speed trap. I put my hands up, I will pay whatever I have to. I just do not want to lose it.
“If I lose my licence he won't be able to train. He is very passionate. He would probably fail at school on purpose because he would think that I did this to him. You know what teenagers are like. It would be catastrophic in my humble opinion.
"I can potter around and can make a life for myself, but if I am disqualified and he cannot go to his games, we are done." She further argued to prosecutor Iain Jones that she would be unable to take him herself on public transport because of the high costs and ongoing back problems for which she attends medical appointments.
She added it wouldn't be practical to expect another team member's family to take responsibility to take him back and forth to all his training and games. She admitted that she is less likely to need the car for employment since auditions nowadays are done online.
She said: "The world has changed. Now you audition on your phone in your living room. Pre-Covid you would take a train to London but for the last three or four jobs for myself I auditioned in my living room.
"My last job I shot in Dublin and my next job I am slated for is in Scotland. It depends. I also do little bits and pieces."
Magistrates chairman Peter Ashworth told Ms Oruche: "You have told us that your son's career would suffer potentially in the long-term and also in the short term.
"You also feel that he might go off track, if I can put it that way. You've also told us that you have medical issues for which the car is used. Further that you do use your car for business purposes, but they are more limited.
"Taking all this into account as well as your medical problems with mobility we are prepared to allow there would be exceptional hardship in this case."
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