David Beckham Banned From Driving For 6 Months

Source: Oscar Gonzalez/WENN.com / WENN

David Beckham Banned From Driving For 6 Months

On Thursday, David Beckham was banned from driving for six months after getting caught using his phone at the wheel of his Bentley. He was also fined £750 (roughly $975).

Beckham stood in front of Bromley Magistrates’ Court in England on Thursday after flying in specifically for the hearing. All this comes after a member of the public reported him for breaking the law in London’s West End last November. Beckham already had six points on his license when he was caught, which meant that Thursday’s six points take him over the 12-point threshold that results in instant disqualification. The former soccer star was also ordered to pay £100 in court costs and a £75 victim surcharge.

According to The Sun, Beckham had previously pleaded guilty by post for using the device while driving in Great Portland Street on November 21. Until now, his case had been heard in a behind-closed-doors hearing at Bromley magistrates, away from the press and public.

Known as a “single justice procedure,” it allows court time to be freed up by allowing magistrates to quickly deal with low-level offenses which do not warrant prison sentences. But he was later ordered to attend an open court session after magistrates said they wanted to “show cause.”

Beckham was caught just two months after he was accused of “shirking his responsibility” as a role model after avoiding prosecution on a speeding charge. He enlisted the services of celebrity lawyer Nick Freeman, who is known as “Mr. Loophole,” and got off on a technicality.