15 April 2023 , 10:07
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Jesse Lingard is due to stand trial in court after he denied providing false details when his Range Rover was flashed by a speed camera.
The Nottingham Forest midfielder, 30, has been charged with failing to provide information about who was driving his vehicle after a name and address were provided and 'linked to a so-called NIP (Notices of Intended Prosecution) farm.' The former England international, who spent 22 years at Manchester United before leaving his boyhood club in June last year, was heard for the first time at Stockport Magistrates Court on Friday.
Lingard didn't appear himself but his lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The court was told that the Range Rover Sport was picked up by a speed camera and was allegedly exceeding the speed limit on the A56 in Trafford in August 2022, but the driver wasn't stopped or spoken to.
Mike Arden, prosecuting for Greater Manchester Police (GMP), explained that as the registered keeper, the force 'wrote to Lingard at his then home address in Altrincham' with a notice of intended prosecution and a Section 172 notice which requested the details of who was driving.
The notice, Arden said, 'made it clear that the individual it was addressed to was to respond' and that 'they are not to pass it on to anyone'. Around two weeks after the 30-year-old was written to, Arden added that a nomination was made online 'on the face of it by someone appearing to be Lingard' with his e-mail address being used.
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The nomination said that the person driving was a George Bolt who lived at an address on Pretoria Road in Oldham, Arden went on to say. The court then heard that the alleged Mr Bolt was written to and no response was received. "That's not a surprise because he doesn't exist," Arden maintained, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. "We're quite certain about that."
Jesse Lingard now plays for Nottingham Forest (David Aliaga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)The GMP prosecutor said that the force's central ticket office had identified the name as 'linked to a so-called NIP farm.' Arden outlined that checks were carried out and GMP were 'satisfied George Bolt doesn't exist at that address.'
"We're not even sure the address exists, we think it is a car park," he continued. "Therefore the nomination of Mr Bolt was inaccurate and misleading and prevents police getting to the bottom of who was driving the Range Rover."
Frank Rogers, who was representing the Forest star, stated: "Mr Lingard will say he never saw the notice of intended prosecution and never had any dealings with it.
Jesse Lingard left Manchester United last June (Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images)"It was dealt with by a third party who processed it in the way that has been alleged, without his knowledge, without his authority and certainly without his approval.
"The first he knew about it was the court papers around charging him (for this offence). He simply never received it. It's essentially a simple trial issue."
The trial date has been listed for Friday, July 28. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six points on your driving licence and a fine of up to £1,000.