Bassetlaw mum made off with van in mistaken bid to stop drunk ex from driving it

Jessica Durrant took the keys to a Ford Transit while it was parked outside her partner’s home, on Edinburgh Walk, Worksop, on January 24, and he reported it missing the next day.

Ben Payne, prosecuting at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court, said the owner, who was in hospital for emergency treatment, contacted the company that fitted the vehicle with a GPS tracker and traced the van to a car park by the One Stop shop, on Gateford Road, Worksop.

He discharged himself from hospital and went to the car park where he found the van’s front passenger side tyre was ‘shredded’ and the alloy wheel damaged.

He went into the shop and watched CCTV footage of Durrant driving the van into the car park at 6.25am that day, before going into the shop and purchasing items. She then appeared to wipe down the steering wheel and walk away.

Mr Payne said: “Durrant was not insured and only holds a provisional licence.”

The van's owner went back to hospital for the treatment he needed.

In a statement, he said the incident ‘cost me a lot of stress and anxiety’ and ‘made my depression worse’, because he is reliant on the vehicle for work and has mobility issues.

Durrant, aged 29, of Well Hill Drive, Harworth, admitted aggravated vehicle taking and driving without a licence or insurance.

Anna Sood, mitigating, said: "This is the first and last time she will appear before the court.”

She said Durrant’s ex-partner, who has been before the courts for drink-driving and has since lost his licence, had been drinking with the van’s owner and she was worried he was going to drive the van while over the limit.

Ms Sood said: “She didn’t realise it didn't belong to him. She accepts she shouldn't have put herself in this situation to protect him.”

She was banned from driving for a year, fined £200 and ordered to pay £250 compensation.