Helen Flanagan banned from driving despite claiming hardship
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Former Coronation Street actress Helen Flanagan has been banned from driving for six months despite claiming it would cause her “exceptional hardship”. The 34-year-old said her boyfriend Robbie Talbot was driving her Audi when it was caught speeding twice in Merseyside in June last year.
She appeared at Wirral Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday charged with two counts of failing to give information relating to the identification of a driver. Magistrates said they were not satisfied a ban would cause Flanagan, who already had six points on her licence, exceptional hardship and also ordered her to pay a £2,000 fine, £800 victim surcharge and £110 prosecution costs.
Flanagan said the remote location of her Bolton home meant she would “really struggle without a car”. The mother-of-three said she was “struggling” financially and would not be able to afford taxis to take her youngest son Charlie to nursery. She said: “My job really is being a mum at home. Their dad works away. It’s really difficult at the moment now for me to be earning money. I earn money on social media but it kind of varies what I earn.”.
She added: “I think there might be a perception maybe that I would easily be able to afford a driver but that’s quite far from the case. “I’ve got enough money in my account to pay off my tax and my VAT and basically that’s about it.”. When asked, she said an Uber to the nursery cost about £10.
