John Barnes spared driving ban in the UK
Published:Thursday | October 30, 2008 | 5:27 PM
A story published in the Telegraph in London today said John Barnes escaped a driving ban after telling a court he was too poor to pay someone to chauffeur him around.
The 44-year-old Barnes, put himself at risk of the ban after caught driving his BMW X5 along the M6 in Cheshire without insurance.
He already had nine points on his licence and an additional six-point penalty would have taken him over the 12-point limit for an instant ban.
Barnes told magistrate in Northwich that if they took him off the road he would be unable to do his impending new job as manager of the Jamaican national team.
He says he could not afford to hire a driver because his income ranged from between 3 thousand to 4 thousand pounds a week.
Barnes further says he has to support his wife and their two children and also had to contribute to the upbringing of the four children from a pervious marriage.
The magistrates spared him the instant ban after agreeing it would cause him exceptional hardship.
Barnes was presented with the keys to a 2-litre BMW X3, courtesy of Stewarts Auto Sales, shortly after he arrived in Jamaica earlier this afternoon.