Jordan Pickford Faces Court Hearing After Pleading Guilty to Careless Driving

Everton and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford will appear at Chester Magistrates' Court in north-west England on December 7 after admitting a careless driving charge over a police chase in his £165,000 Lamborghini Urus.

The 32-year-old entered an online guilty plea last Friday, but he asked to attend the hearing in person. 

"I would like to attend court to put forward my mitigation," he wrote in his submission to the court. Cheshire Police, who cover the county of Cheshire in north-west England, charged him on September 23. 

The case was first handled under the Single Justice Procedure, which lets a magistrate decide minor motoring cases on paper without a public hearing.

If he is convicted, Pickford could get between three and nine penalty points on his driving licence. Depending on how the magistrate sees his mitigation, he could even face a full driving ban.

The incident happened on April 14 in Knutsford, a town in Cheshire, close to where Pickford lives. It came just days before he was due to play in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool, Everton's city rivals. Police say his driving forced other road users to brake hard to avoid a crash.

PC Cecil Ricardo of Cheshire Police saw it all as he was leaving the local police station. He said the blue 4x4, which has a personalised number plate, ignored road markings at a busy junction. 

In a written witness statement reported by British tabloid newspaper The Sun, he said: "I then witnessed a blue Lamborghini Urus driving along Princess Street. It reached the junction with Toft Road, completely ignored the give way lines and pulled onto Toft Road causing two vehicles to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision. The Lamborghini then sped down Toft Road, Knutsford. I activated my emergency equipment, lights and sirens and attempted to catch up with the vehicle."

The officer said the chase got quick. "At one point on Toft Road my vehicle's speedometer indicated I was travelling at 50mph and the Lamborghini was still pulling away. The speed limit on that stretch of Toft Road is 30mph," he said.

The car did eventually pull over. PC Ricardo said he then walked up to the driver's side and the goalkeeper gave his name. 

"I approached the driver's side and the driver identified himself as Jordan Pickford. I cautioned Pickford, pointed out the offence of driving without due care and attention and issued a traffic offence report. He made no reply," the officer said.

The Urus is one of the fastest SUVs in the world. It can reach 62mph in 3.5 seconds and has a top speed of 190mph. Pickford has played 91 times for England.