Geri fined and banned for speeding

Geri Halliwell told a British court she was "very, very sorry" for speeding.

She was banned from driving for 42 days and fined £400 for driving at 60mph in a 30mph zone.

Halliwell, 28, admitted speeding in her Aston Martin DB7 on the A411 towards Watford, Hertfordshire, on October 31 last year.

Her lawyer, Nicola-Jane Taylor, told Watford Magistrates the former Spice Girl, who appeared under her full name Geraldine Estelle Halliwell, said she accepted the gravity of the offence and was "very, very sorry". She was also ordered to pay £35 in costs.

After sentence was passed, Ms Halliwell smiled at the magistrates' bench, gave a little wave and said: "Thank you. Have a nice day. Goodbye."

A tanned Geri, who was wearing a cream leather coat and matching spiky high-heel shoes, spoke in a quiet voice to confirm her name, date of birth and address during the brief hearing. She confirmed her address as in Slough, Berkshire.

Ms Halliwell wanted to be treated like "any member of the public in sentencing and had no excuses for speeding", Ms Taylor said.

She told the court: "Miss Halliwell offers no excuses to this court, in short there are no mitigating circumstances I will be putting to you today. She puts herself in your hands for justice to be meted out to her.

"She expects to be treated in exactly the same manner as any member of the public and be admonished by this Bench.

"She is very very sorry for this offence of which she makes no excuses. She appreciates the gravity of it and is in your hands."

Halliwell, who has been driving since she was 17, pleaded guilty in writing in February but was ordered to appear in person for sentence. Magistrates chairman Mike Moore told her that she was being given credit for her early guilty plea.