Sky Sports pundit and Arsenal legend Paul Merson has copped a six-month driving ban and hefty fine for a slew of speeding offences.
The England midfielder turned TV star was slapped with the half-year ban at Guildford Magistrates’ Court on Friday, after being caught over the speed limit three times since autumn alone.
Merson was nabbed doing 47mph in a 40mph zone on the A316 Great Chertsey Road in Feltham, south-west London, on September 9. The 56-year-old was then spotted doing the same speed on the same road just two days later in his snazzy silver Volkswagen Touareg.
He was later clocked doing 57mph in a 50mph stretch of the A316 Country Way in Sunbury on October 1. These three incidents followed an earlier offence where he was clocked driving at 60mph in a 50mph limit on the M3 at Thorpe, Surrey, on February 27 last year.
These multiple speeding violations chalked up 12 penalty points for Merson. He pleaded guilty to the offences and was hit with a whopping £2,640 fine, required to pay a £1,056 victim surcharge, and to cover prosecution costs of £110 within 28 days, reports the Mirror.
(Image: W8 Media)
Chief Magistrate Joan Lindsay firmly told him his previous driving record was “not great” and issued a stern warning: “You mustn’t drive on any UK road once you leave court.”
The court heard Merson already had nine points on his driving licence for speeding twice in 2021 and once in 2022, leaving him with a total of 21 points. Nicholas Maggs, defending the former footballer, argued the four new convictions were for “relatively modest” speeds in variable limits.
He suggested that losing his licence would have a “substantial effect” on Merson’s wife, who doesn’t drive, and their family because Merson does the school run. Their eldest child, aged nine, travels around 45 minutes four times a week for training and matches at Chelsea’s academy.
Mr Maggs said: “On his behalf, I wish to put forward his remorse for these offences. He accepts it’s not acceptable. Through me he apologises to the court for finding himself before the court and finding himself disqualified for driving. It’s going to make things substantially more difficult.”
“I’m sure the court will appreciate Mr Merson experienced a number of difficulties in his younger life and has now chosen to use these positively through unpaid speaking events to help younger people from suffering mental health problems.”