Singer Louise Redknapp has been banned from driving for six months after she was caught out by police using her phone at the wheel.
The 50-year-old star had just finished the school run and stuck in traffic on her way to work in London when she was spotted typing into the handset.
Redknapp was pulled over by police officers, and said she had been using a Sat-Nav app on her phone to try to find a way around roadworks that were making her late for work.
Holding a mobile phone handset while driving a car is now illegal, regardless of whether the vehicle is moving.
Redknapp pleaded guilty to using a handheld mobile phone while driving, and was sentenced at Crawley magistrates court to a six-month driving ban.
The court was told Redknapp already had six penalty points on her licence at the time of the incident, so was in line for an automatic ban.
She was also ordered to pay a £962 fine with £85 costs and a £385 victim surcharge.
In a letter to the court, the former Eternal singer explained the incident, which happened on High Street, Epsom on April 15 at just after 9am.
“I had just dropped my son off at school and was on my way to work in London when the offence took place”, she wrote.
“The traffic was extremely heavy due to roadworks in Epsom.
“Whilst stationary at a red light I put my work address into Waze, hoping to find a route that would get me to work on time.
“I completely understand that this was something I shouldn’t have done and am extremely sorry that I did it, and have certainly learned my lesson.”
Facing a driving ban, the former Strictly Come Dancing finalist told the court: “As I am a single mum without childcare, my son relies on me to pick him up and drive him to his football club and home again, which can sometimes be as late as 10pm.
“I also use my car to get to and from work on a daily basis.
“Again I am extremely sorry that I made such a bad judgment and hope you may be able to take in to consideration how vital it is that I can continue to drive when deciding whether or not I will receive a driving ban.”
It is not the first time Redknapp has found herself in court over her driving.
In 2019, the chart-topping singer, TV personality, and West End star was fined £666 for running a red traffic light in her Range Rover on Wandsworth Bridge.
She blamed the incident on stress from the “trauma of divorce” from ex-footballer and husband of 19 years Jamie Redknapp.
Her latest offence was prosecuted through the Single Justice Procedure, with a magistrate deciding to impose a ban in a closed-door hearing after seeing written evidence.
PC Edward Ferris, from the Metropolitan Police, told the court he and colleagues were stationed in Epsom to look for drivers using their phones while in traffic.
“This, in my experience, is the time when drivers use their mobile phones, some when stationary at the lights but a huge amount using them when still driving in slow moving traffic or upon moving off sometimes at considerable speed”, he wrote.
“When doing so, they are travelling towards a pedestrian controlled traffic signal and crossing. This is incredibly dangerous as either side of where I was positioned are multiple business premises, a train station and a pedestrian crossing point, both with a large amount of people walking and cycling including some crossing in between vehicles.
“When drivers are distracted using their mobile phone they are not paying full attention to the road and do not have the same reaction time as someone who is concentrating on driving. This alone is liable to cause countless injuries and in some circumstances fatalities to innocent vulnerable road users which could easily be avoided.”
He said he saw Redknapp at the wheel of a black Mini while she was in a traffic jam.
“I could see the driver looking down into her lap, a classic sign of phone use”, he said.
“I could see the driver was holding a smart phone in both hands level with the bottom of the steering wheel and her lap. She was typing into the device with both thumbs.”
PC Ferris said he circled around the car and saw the driver “still holding the phone in both hands and was still interacting with it with her both thumbs.
“As I moved around the vehicle, I noted it moved forward despite the traffic still being stationary ahead. I could see the phone screen was illuminated.
“She appeared to see me looking at her and stopped using the device and drove off in traffic without checking around her.”
Redknapp was pulled over by the PC’s colleagues further along the road.
Court papers show she pleaded guilty online at the end of October. Her sentencing hearing in private happened on November 25.
