Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana gets driving ban for speeding on hard shoulder | Road safety

A Chelsea footballer who was caught on camera speeding his Lamborghini on a busy A road has been given a long-term driving ban.

Wesley Fofana, 24, pleaded guilty at North East Surrey magistrates’ court to dangerous driving on the A3 Esher bypass in Hook, Surrey, on April 20. The incident came to light when another driver recorded the footage on his vehicle camera and reported it to the police.

The offense predated Fofana’s eight other speeding charges in May, for which he was banned from driving for two years.

The recording released by CPS shows him speeding and driving recklessly through traffic.

District judge Julie Cooper sentenced the Chelsea player to an 18-month community order, which includes 300 hours of community service, and ordered him to pay £85 costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

Judge Cooper told him: “You are aware that there are a lot of young people who look up to you and want to be like you and follow you. That’s part of the job.”

“But they won’t be able to buy these expensive cars with all the add-ons that keep them safe and you might end up with a 17-year-old who’s just passed his test and thinks they can copy you.

“They won’t be able to handle their car and they won’t be able to do some ridiculous driving maneuvers and they will die. You need to be much more responsible about your actions.”

Prosecutor Rabbi Khan said the other driver recorded Fofana’s white Lamborghini on his dashcam around 4.50pm. Khan told the court: “The witness identified the danger and this defendant was driving at a demanding speed in a 50mph zone.

“The offense was aggravated by an approaching bend that was signposted and he failed to signal when performing these manoeuvres. He refused to comply with the rules of the road at speed.”

Fofana was disqualified at Lavender Hill magistrates’ court in May for eight speeding offenses he committed while driving a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a blue Audi and the same Lamborghini Urus.

He pleaded guilty to all offenses and was fined a total of £5,328, plus a £2,131 victim surcharge and £110 costs. In this incident, he received 38 penalty points on his driver’s license, increasing his total penalty points to 47. The most recent crime occurred before these speeding charges.

His barrister Imogen Cox told the court: “The video speaks for itself; 15 to 20 seconds of driving was permitted. There is no explanation or excuse for his driving that day.”

“He voluntarily appeared for an interview at Guildford police station and apologized for his driving, saying he had learned a valuable lesson in driving and had no explanation for his driving that day.

“This offense predates the speeding offenses committed at Lavender Hill, which all occurred within a seven-month period. He is essentially of good character, has no criminal convictions against him. He is fit and healthy and able to carry out community work.”

The judge warned that breaches of the new 18-month driving ban were likely to result in a prison sentence, adding: “At the end of the disqualification you cannot drive until you have passed an extended driving test and if you drive as a disqualified driver you will almost certainly be sent to prison and that is the end of your career.”