12 September 2023 , 08:39
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Danniella Westbrook got away scot-free after stealing petrol from a garage while on holiday in Spain.
The former EastEnders actor was convicted of fraud by a Spanish court after she drove away without paying for the petrol five years ago. She was subject to an outstanding police complaint ( known as a 'denuncia' in Spain) over the driving offence – which saw her arrested by national police and detained for 14 hours in a terrifying ordeal in 2018.
She was later convicted of fraud after failing to pay for 37 euros (or £32.90 at the time) worth of petrol she put in a hire car during a motorway stop. Her legal battle was the last time she visited Ibiza until last month, which saw her getting confronted by police after landing.
Earlier this week, officials at the small court in Velez Rubio in the province of Almeria near the garage she drove off from on July 22 2017 said her fraud conviction was now spent because of a legal loophole and she wouldn’t be made to pay anything. She was convicted of a minor fraud offence in October 2018 despite a no-show at the court.
Danniella got away scot-free after stealing petrol (GC Images)
She was convicted of a minor fraud offence in October 2018 (Getty Images)The moment she emptied her handbag out on the counter of a service station before telling staff she had no money was played in front of the people in the courtroom - which included the judge and the garage owner. Danniella was reported to the police two days after she drove off from the Galp petrol station.
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Danniella, who was prosecuted under her former married name Danniella Jenkins, was ordered to repay the 36 euros and fined 300 euros in her absence. The fine conditions involved the payment of three euros a day for a month. She was also warned in a sentencing document that she would face a day in jail for every two unpaid days.
Yesterday legal sources confirmed the sentence was now spent because officials had not been able to formally notify her of her punishment within a year of its issue. One said: “That means the sentence has been archived for her and she no longer has any criminal responsibility in this matter.”
Spanish police sources confirmed the Ibiza interception, which was not an arrest, was the result of a court-issued residence inquiry relating to the unpaid petrol. Garage owner Mr Serafino Reche told Westbrook’s trial in her absence: "She left a foreign driving licence and said she’d pay later but I never heard from her again.”
Last month, Danniella spoke to the Mirror and explained what happened. Reflecting on the offence, Danniella revealed: "Basically I was driving up to Benidorm to see a mate of mine but I had all my cards and that stolen so I didn't have much cash on me so the drive from Marbella to there is around seven and a half hours so a full tank of petrol, just before I got to Benidorm I was on the border, I was literally on the red in petrol so I went into the garage and put 30 euro petrol in and I said to the guy, I don't have any money I have my driving licence I said I can come back tomorrow and pay you, so he was going crazy and going 'I'm gonna ring the police' so I just said please this is all I've got and gave him my driving licence and a copy of my passport and he let me go and then I completely forgot about it."