Mother and son off the road for driving with no insurance

MARIE FARRELL, the crucial witness who withdrew her statements in the Sophie Toscan du Plantier murder case, exposed her teenage son to a criminal prosecution by assuring him he was insured to drive, a court heard yesterday.

Her “misled” son, Michael, 18, was fined and disqualified from holding a licence after pleading guilty to driving without insurance on five occasions, including three times within five days. Insurance cover, the court heard, was withdrawn from her son’s car after a difficulty with a direct debit bank order.

In a separate case, Ms Farrell, from Ardmanagh, Schull was also fined and disqualified from driving for not having insurance when she appeared in Bandon District Court yesterday.