- Bestselling author Lynda La Plante, 83, has been banned from driving for six months.
- She pleaded guilty to breaking the 20mph speed limit near her home in Kingston-upon-Thames five times between November 2025 and April 2026.
- La Plante told Lavender Hill Magistrates’ Court that her vehicle was "essential for meeting criminals and sources," which she deemed "vital for research into her next works of fiction”, adding that a ban would prevent her from taking her dog to Roehampton for walks, a situation she claimed "would force her to stop writing altogether."
- However, magistrate Mandy Lamplough told La Plante she hadn’t done enough to prove that disqualification would cause her “exceptional hardship”.
- The magistrates imposed fines totalling £3,330 on the writer, and handed her a six-month ban as her points total rose to 24. She was also ordered to pay £130 costs and a £1,332 victim surcharge.
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