Another Driving Ban For "Gin And Tonics" Aston Martin Lady

A tipsy driver told police: “I’ve had a couple of gin and tonics,” when arrested near her Aston Martin for her third drinks-related offence.

Laura Thompson, 64, who Bromley Magistrates’ Court heard was attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, was disqualified from driving for twelve months.

She pleaded guilty to being in charge of her black 4.3 litre Aston Martin in Tranquil Vale, Greenwich on July 4.

Prosecutor Hanna Colette told the court it was 8.30pm when a concerned member of the public called police to the location, just a three minute drive from Thompson’s home in Lee Park, Blackheath.

“She was outside the vehicle and had difficulty speaking to the police and was waving her hands around.”

A member of the public confirmed they stayed with Thompson due to concerns about the state she was in and obvious intention to drive her vehicle.

Her breath reading of 96 micrograms was nearly three times the drinks limit.

Thompson’s lawyer Jonny Pilkington told the court: “She held her hands up to the police at the scene.”

There were also physical and mental health issues she was struggling to cope with, the court heard.

“She turned to alcohol as a way of numbing the pain.

“She has been attending AA meetings and has gone from using alcohol regularly to not at all for a few months and has put her car up for sale.”

When questioned by District Judge Sarah Turnock, Thompson confessed to having a couple of drinks since her arrest.

“This is your third drink drive-related conviction, but there is no evidence you drove the car,” the judge told her. “I have to disqualify you.

“It is an incredibly serious offence to drive while disqualified. You could go to prison.”

Thompson must also complete a twelve-month Community Order, which includes a tagged two-month Alcohol Abstinence Monitoring Requirement.

“That means no alcohol for two months,” added Judge Turnock, ordering Thompson to also pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

More Points On Licence For Speeding Earl Of Yarborough

The Eighth Earl of Yarborough, Charles Pelham was fined and received three penalty points yesterday after he was caught on camera speeding in Central London. 

The 61 year-old peer, who was a member of the House of Lords between 1991 and 1999 complained there are so many differing speed limits in the capital it is impossible to not get caught out.

He pleaded guilty to driving his £70,000 2.9 litre grey Porsche Macan in excess of the 20mph limit on the A202 Vauxhall Bridge Road, near the junction with Chapter Street on January 9.

Prosecutor Laura-Ann Harding told Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court it was 8.54am when the Earl of Yarborough was caught driving at 28mph in a 20mph zone by an automatic speed camera. 

He was approximately four miles from his £10m smart end of terrace house in Lansdowne Walk, Notting Hill on his way to visit a poorly friend in south London.

The court heard he is currently disqualified from driving until March 9, next year for other motoring offences.

The Eton-educated Earl, who held the title Lord Worsley between 1966 and 1991 told the court: “I was going to see a friend in Stockwell who wasn’t very well.

“Apart from that I don’t remember anything.

“I find the speed limits vary so much it is impossible to know what one you are in and it was not too fast.”

The father-of-five was fined £666, with £130 costs and ordered to pay a £266 victim surcharge.

Bench Chairman John Tomkins told him: “Traffic enforcement in London is strict and for some driver’s it is onerous, but it is the law.

“You should drive with vigilance when you get your driving licence back.

“You pleaded guilty to exceeding the twenty miles per hour speed limit and we take into consideration your early guilty plea.

“Although you are disqualified when you receive your licence back it will have three penalty points on it.

“If you are disqualified again for accumulating totting points the disqualification will be for a minimum period of twelve months.”

Pub Landlord CCTV Pervert Jailed For Spying On Customers

Court In The Act: Ron Hall Outside Bromley Magistrates'

A pub landlord, who installed CCTV in the gents toilet and secretly recorded close-up images of his customers using the urinals, was jailed for nine months today.

Under the pretence of combating drug use at the popular south-east London pub Ronald Hall, 50, persuaded brewery bosses to install a CCTV camera by the toilet door.

However, once contractors arrived he insisted they place the camera inside the lavatory and then deliberately disabled a privacy function, which allowed him a full view of the urinals.

He pleaded guilty at Bromley Magistrates’ Court to thirty-two counts of voyeurism at the Plough & Harrow pub, Bellegrove Road, Welling between February 20 and December 6, last year.

Hall, of Stanley Road, Folkestone, lost his accommodation and job when arrested at the pub on December 17 and moved to the Kent coast where he got a job as a bus driver.

“Your attitude demonstrates a woeful lack of respect for privacy,” District Judge Sarah Turnock told an obviously shocked Hall. “There must be a sentencing uplift to reflect the sheer volume and scale of your actions.

“There is no realistic prospect of rehabilitation. When given the opportunity to express remorse you have refused to do so and minimised your actions and behaviour and suggested that people would not have even minded.”

Prosecutor Colette Hanna told the court the National Crime Agency alerted police to an online dropbox containing potentially illegal images and recordings that were traced to Hall.

Officers seized and examined his mobile phone, which contained recordings from the pub’s toilet with sixteen male victims identified.

The thirty-two charges relate to Hall recording each of those sixteen victims and operating equipment to observe them.

Hall was able to use his phone to remotely zoom in to the urinals and record footage of his customers using them.

When questioned by the officers he claimed: “It’s not voyeurism because it is not distributed.”

Sunglasses Ron: Future Not Bright

“He admitted it was a ‘silly mistake’ and denied it was for sexual gratification,” added Ms Hanna.

Hall admitted going online to seek adult gay porn, but claimed when he clicked a link his dropbox was immediately shut down.

The landlord said it was common knowledge amongst regulars that there was a CCTV camera in the toilet and they would joke: “Have you been watching my k***?”

In total police found 105 separate video clips, with Hall claiming his customers “would not be bothered” by the recordings.

“He made light of it and thought there was nothing wrong with what he was doing and they would have consented anyway because they knew they were being filmed,” said Ms Hanna.

“There is planning and persistence and apparently a lack of remorse.”

District Judge Turnock announced: “He deliberately disconnected the privacy settings of the contractors. This seemed to have been planned throughout.

“The offences are very serious and I am satisfied there are factors that raise culpability. 

“There was a significant degree of planning by you, that is overwhelmingly clear to me,” she told Hall. 

“Added to that the images were shared on your dropbox and accessed at your convenience as you abused your position as the landlord of a public house to record customers.

“You directed the installation and then tampered with the CCTV camera to remove the privacy settings order to view mens’ genitalia.”

The CCTV system came with a ‘grey area’ that prevented users having a clear view of the urinals on the screen, but this was removed by the landlord.

Hall was unprepared for a prison after the pre-sentence report (PSR) recommended a non-custodial disposal of the case and failed to bring his medication and overnight bag.

“Who is going to look after my animals? I have got no-one to look after my dog and parrot,” he complained. “My car is in the car park. How are we going to sort that out?”

His lawyer Christina Barath told the court: “He has shown a lot more remorse for his actions than is in the PSR. He does not think probation wrote down everything he said.

“He no longer works at the pub and is a bus driver and would not have done this if he had not been drinking. This has had a massive impact on his life.

“CCTV was only in the toilet due to drug use and he accessed the CCTV when he was drunk through his phone and zoomed in using his phone.

“He appreciates the severity of his actions and accepts the seriousness of this and that he could receive a custodial sentence.”

The lawyer said Hall attempted suicide before his first court appearance and its currently on an increased prescription for depression.

“Custody would impact his physical and mental health,” added Ms Barath. “He would lose his home and has complex needs and is vulnerable.”

Hall has also had liver and kidney issues and suffered abuse as a teenager, the court heard.

District Judge Turnock also ordered Hall to sign the sex offenders register for ten years; made him subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he must pay £85 costs and £187 victim surcharge.

"Violent And Dangerous" London Underground Robber Admits Spree

A machete-wielding prolific robber, who targeted six victims on the London Underground system in just four days, has admitted his crime spree.

Teddy Kelt, 20, of Bower Close, Romford pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court to three counts of robbery and three counts of attempted robbery.

He also pleaded guilty to two public order offences, two counts of possessing a knife or bladed article in public, and common assault.

He will be sentenced at Inner London Crown Court on October 16.

The court heard how on December 4, last year at around 9.30pm, Kelt followed a 22-year-old man onto the platform of Mile End Underground station and approached him, telling him he had a knife.

He said he would stab the victim if he called for help and demanded his mobile phone. 

After the victim handed it over, Kelt patted down the victim and went through his pockets before slapping him in the face, pushing him onto the floor, and leaving the station.

The following day, Kelt sat next to a 16-year-old boy on a Jubilee Line train, where he asked about his mobile before showing him a machete and demanding he hand his phone over.

Two days later, Kelt attempted to rob three people on a Northern Line train towards Totteridge and Whetstone Underground station, sitting opposite a 21-year-old man and a 13-year-old boy and asking about the man's watch, threatening the pair.

He then approached a 19-year-old man and asked about his headphones before threatening to stab him for his phone. 

He dropped his knife on the floor in front of the man before leaving the train.

The next day, Kelt approached another man on the platform of Finchley Central Underground station and asked to use his phone to call a friend. 

He then followed the victim onto the train showed him the handle of a knife in his waistband, threatening to kill him.

The victim handed over his phone, laptop, and iPad out of fear before Kelt demanded the victim get off the train at Tufnell Park with him. 

Kelt led the victim into a newsagent before further robbing him of his headphones and rucksack.

Later that day, Kelt attempted to rob a 17-year-old of their phone on an Elizabeth Line train, again threatening to stab him. 

When other passengers intervened, Kelt attempted to punch one of them. 

Not long after, on another Elizabeth Line train, Kelt tried to rob another man of his phone and said he would "slash his neck" before walking off.

In total, over four days Kelt robbed three people of items worth nearly £4,000.

Kelt is already serving a 3-year and 9-month sentence for three more robberies of items worth around £2,000, two more attempted robberies, two counts of possessing Class C drugs, and possessing a corrosive substance in a public place.

These robberies and attempted robberies took place at Ilford, Gidea Park, Goodmayes, Bexleyheath, and Seven Kings between November 29 and December 9, 2024.

Officers identified Kelt after they were called to Gidea Park on December 9, following a robbery he had committed. 

Officers recognised him in the CCTV footage and attended his address early in the morning, finding him in the garden wearing a stolen coat with several stolen phones in his home.

Detective Sergeant Steven Ridpath-Mitchell said: "Kelt is an exceedingly violent and dangerous individual, who spent four days mostly targeting teenagers, threatening them at knifepoint, for his own benefit. 

“I hope that his guilty plea provides some sense of closure to the victims after he put them through such an awful ordeal.

"He's shown no remorse for his actions, either refusing to be interviewed or providing no comment or reply. 

“The threats that he made against innocent commuters and the violence he used to rob them of their belongings is frankly sickening.

"There is absolutely no tolerance for robbery on the railway network, and we have regular patrols on trains and in stations of uniformed officers alongside our specially trained plain-clothed officers to detect and deter robbery around the clock."

Knifeman "Laughed" About Double Tube Station Stabbings

A violent knifeman, who entered a tube station and repeatedly stabbed two passengers waiting for a train, has been convicted of GBH.

Nicholas Orlando Green, 36, did not know the male victims, who were part of a larger group that had just departed a local Kennington dance class at approximately 10.30pm.

An Inner London Crown Court jury cleared him of the attempted murder of the victims.

Green, of Kennington Park Road will be sentenced in December for two counts of inflicting grievous bodily harm, with intent, possession of a bladed article and assaulting a female as he exited the station.

The first victim, 44, was already in Kennington Underground Station when Green tapped in using a bank card, which later identified him.

On the platform he launched a ferocious and unprovoked attack on the man, attacking and stabbing him for around 20 seconds with a knife clenched in his right hand. 

He continued the attack even after the victim fell to the floor.

Hearing the commotion, the second victim, 42, rushed over to intervene. 

Green then began attacking him in the same way, knocking him to the ground before other horrified members of the public intervened.

Green then got up and made his way to a lift, where he assaulted the 31-year-old woman before leaving the station.

Both of the first two victims were rushed to hospital. 

The first victim suffered multiple stab injuries to his chest and a fractured humerus bone in his left arm.

The second victim also suffered 13 stab injuries in total.

Detectives launched an urgent investigation and quickly established Green's identity from the bank card he had tapped into the station with.

He was arrested the following day by BTP officers and taken into custody.

During a search of his address officers located the card he had used to tap in and the trainers he had worn during the attack. 

They also found the jacket that he had been wearing, which had been freshly washed.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Attwell said: "This was a truly horrific and unprovoked attack that left two innocent men with life-altering physical and psychological injuries that they continue to recover from.

“Green’s torrent of violence that day has never been satisfactorily explained.

“During police interviews Green repeatedly laughed, lied, argued and tried to frustrate our investigation as much as he could, but our officers worked tirelessly to gather crucial evidence that helped the jury see through his lies and bring him to justice.

“I hope this outcome brings some measure of justice and reassurance to the victims and their loved ones. 

“We will stop at nothing to ensure violent offenders like Green are held to account and removed from the streets.”

Anyone who is the victim of or witness to an offence on the tube or railway network should text 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40. In an emergency always call 999.

£2M School Arsonists Receive Suspended Prison Sentences

Louis Hall-Simper

Two young arsonists, responsible for burning down a £2m school building, received suspended prison sentences today.

Louis Hall-Simper, 23, and Harry Shearman, 22, are former pupils of Hinchley Wood Primary School, Esher, Surrey and fought the charge.

They were both convicted of arson by a Kingston-upon-Thames Crown jury, who found they were to blame for the fire in the early hours of September 26, 2021 when The Woodies Building was destroyed.

Unfortunately court staff failed to comply with the direction of Recorder Aiden Eardley QC, who ordered a live online link of the sentencing hearing to be made available to the media.

Hall-Simper received ten months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months and Shearman nine months imprisonment, suspended for twelve months.

Hall-Simper must also complete 200 hours community service work and Shearman 180 hours.

Both defendants were also each ordered to pay £1200 costs.

When prosecutor Tim Sleigh opened the trial he told the jurors both defendants had been drinking that night and later told police they lit a disposable BBQ to keep warm on the school premises.

However, the prosecution say there was no evidence of a BBQ in the debris and even if the ex-pupils’ account is true they were at least reckless in starting the fire.

“On that night the wooden building burned down, causing over two million pounds worth of damage,” said Mr Sleigh. “These two defendants were past pupils of the school some years earlier.

“They had met that night, drank some alcohol and decided to break into their old school at 11.00pm and having entered the grounds they sat in a courtyard.

Harry Shearman

“That area was partly covered by wooden struts and having sat there for a while they broke into the school building and CCTV evidence shows them looking around.

“Meanwhile, a fire developed outside the building while the defendants were inside and when they realised this they fled.

“The fire brigade extinguished the fire, but were not able to save the building and it was destroyed,” explained Mr Sleigh. 

“You will have to decide if their behaviour was reckless or deliberate,” he told the jurors.

“No disposable BBQ was found, but one would not necessarily be discovered. 

“Experts will tell you the fire could have burned at 430 degrees centigrade.”

When initially questioned by police neither defendant mentioned anything about a BBQ.

“Shearman initially said they had sat in the area, but he did not know how the fire started and then he said in his second interview they had lit a disposable BBQ to stay warm.

“He said they left it when they decided to enter the school , but he had urinated and poured water onto it.

“In his second interview Hall-Simper gave a similar account about the BBQ and that they had left it pretty much extinguished.

“Did these defendants see a risk at leaving that BBQ there and was it unreasonable to take that risk?” asked Mr Sleigh. 

“You will be invited to consider by the prosecution that these two defendants committed arson on that day.”