A WOMAN who gave false information about the driver of a car caught speeding has been fined in excess of £14,000.

A Mercedes was caught on camera travelling at 38mph in a 30mph zone on the A414 Maldon Road, Danbury just after 12.20pm on February 13, 2014.

When a notice of intended prosecution was sent to registered keeper, 61-year-old Teresa Ward of Main Road, Boreham, she responded stating that the car was being driven someone else at the time of the offence.

Enquiries later revealed the man wasn’t in the UK at the time of the offence and could not have been driving the vehicle.

Ward was reported to court for perverting the course of justice and stood trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on June 20.

A jury found her guilty of the offence two days later and she was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine, £4,500 costs and an £80 victim surcharge. Ward was given 36 days to pay the fine or face six months imprisonment.

She was also sentenced to four months imprisonment suspended for two years.

Chris Sydric, Investigation Officer for the Casualty Reduction Section at Essex Police, said: "I hope this case serves as a strong reminder to people that speeding notices like this shouldn’t be ignored.

"If one drops through your letterbox, please make sure you provide police with the correct details of who was driving your vehicle at the time of the offence. If you don’t, you could find us knocking at your door.”