Banned Mansfield driver tried to hoodwink cops with fake stab report

A banned Mansfield driver falsely reported a stabbing to throw police off the scent as she was followed by officers, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Police were conducting an area search following a burglary in Sutton, when they began following Terri-Louise Lumley’s Vauxhall Astra, but received a report of a stabbing on nearby Outram Street.

They stopped Lumley on Brick Kiln Lane, Mansfield, for driving while disqualified and without insurance, in the early hours of December 17, and she tested positive for cocaine at the police station.

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Prosecutor Lee Shepherd said: “She made the call about the stabbing to throw police off the scent. She admitted this when she was stopped and she was given a fixed penalty notice.”

Lumley, 37, of Alcock Avenue, admitted both driving offences, when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Monday.

The court heard she first appeared in court for driving while disqualified in 1999, and was banned until she passed the test again in 2002. She appeared again in 2003, 2005 and 2008 for the same offences.

And in April 2016, she was handed six penalty points for driving without a licence or insurance.

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Chris Perry, mitigating, said: “She didn’t realise she was still disqualified. The disqualification was imposed 15 years ago and it still stands.”

He said Lumley had offended “pretty much annually” between 1998 and 2008 because of a heroin problem, but had been off the drug until 2017.

“Last year she was accused of a serious offence that led to four and a half months in custody, that was later dismissed.

“She lost everything and ended up living at her brother’s. Unfortunately she started to dabble in drugs again and is now dependent on heroin.

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“It’s fairly clear that that pattern is waiting to be repeated unless it is dealt with quickly.”

Probation officer Cheryl Nisbet said: “She needs to be prescribed methadone as soon as possible.”

Sentencing was adjourned until Wednesday for reports, and to allow Lumley to attend meetings with a drugs worker and her GP.

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