A woman whose handbag was stolen in a nightclub five years ago has found herself in court after discovering she has been hit with a £440 fine and four penalty points.
Sarah Yates had no idea about the conviction until she tried to get car insurance and brokers told her her premiums were about to rocket.
She investigated and found that her driving licence, which was in her bag when it was stolen, had been used to provide details after someone went over the 70mph limit on the M62 near Bradford.
Sarah was at a Taylor Swift concert in Manchester at the time of the crime - and had pictures on her phone to prove it, reports the Manchester Evening News .
She says she contacted police in 2014 when the licence was originally stolen - and had heard nothing when the speeding offence happened.
After being informed by insurance companies about what had happened, Sarah went to Stockport Magistrates' Court to make a statutory declaration.
Sarah said: "I just started crying in the courtroom, I was so embarrassed. It was just humiliating because nobody was listening to me.
"I was just so angry."
Sarah was ordered to stand trial in a court in Bradford - 50 miles away.
"I was only able to report it as fraud to Action Fraud, I never actually got to speak to a police officer," she said.
"They've done absolutely nothing to help me."
Sarah says she has visited two police stations - one was closed and the other demanded an appointment - and spent two hours waiting on the 101 non-emergency number before getting cut off.
After taking a day off work and spending 20 hours on the phone Sarah emailed the court in Bradford and got an email response saying the case against her had been dropped.
Sarah said: "I'm relieved the criminal case has been dropped, but my fear is that unless the police actively seek out the person who stole my driving license, this is just going to happen again."
Greater Manchester Police has been contacted numerous times for comment.
