Compensation news
24/02/2011

Ex-boxer without licence risked car accident

A former British world boxing champion has been fined for driving offences five years after he was involved in a car accident which resulted in a 15-month jail term and four-year driving ban.

In May 2005, Naseem Hamed was driving his McLaren-Mercedes sports car in Sheffield at 90mph when he was in a head-on collision with another driver, resulting in the personal injury victim suffering fractures of every major bone in his body.

Following the car crash, he admitted dangerous driving, for which he was imprisoned, and was told to retake a driving test before getting behind the wheel again when the ban ended in March 2010.

However, last week the 37-year-old sportsman pleaded guilty before Woking magistrates for driving a vehicle not in accordance with his licence and driving with no insurance.

His solicitor told the court Hamed had been out with a friend in his wife's car when he received a call from her to say their son was sick and he drove home, being stopped two minutes away from his Virginia Water house.

He added, "(Hamed) threw caution to the wind, parental instincts kicked in. He acknowledges he should have taken the test and should not have driven."

Magistrates fined him £1,000 for driving without insurance and put six penalty points on his licence, with a further £150 for not taking his re-test.

If he had been involved in a further car accident while being uninsured, he could have been personally liable for any compensation or other claims for damages by the victims.