Paul Merson has lost his driving license for six months after he pleaded guilty to several recent speeding offences .
The ex-Arsenal player turned pundit won't be able to drive for half a year after being caught speeding three times recently. The ban was issued by the magistrates on Friday in Guildford.
The Sky Sports pundit was caught doing 47mph in a 40mph limit on the A316 Great Chertsey Road in Feltham, south west London, on September 9. The 56-year-old was then caught doing the same speed on the same road just two days later in his silver Volkswagen Touareg.
Merson was later caught doing 57mph in a 50mph stretch of the A316 Country Way in Sunbury on October 1. The three speeding offences occurred within a month and came after he was caught driving 60mph in a 50mph limit on the M3 at Thorpe, Surrey, on February 27 last year.
All these speeding infringements have landed Merson 12 penalty points. As a result he was also fined £2,640, must pay a victim surcharge of £1,056 and prosecution costs of £110 within 28 days. Chief Magistrate Joan Lindsay admitted his previous driving record was “not great” and warned: “You mustn’t drive on any UK road once you leave court.”
The court was told that Merson already had nine points on his driving licence for speeding twice in 2021 and once in 2022, leaving him with 21 points on his license. Nicholas Maggs, who was defending the ex-footballer, claimed the four new convictions were for “relatively modest” speeds in variable limits. He claimed losing his liecense will have a “substantial effect” on his wife, who doesn’t drive, and his family with Merson doing the school run.
The oldest of their three kids, aged nine, has to travel 45 minutes around four times a week for training and matches at Chelsea ’s academy.
He 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.”
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