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Jack Grealish: Aston Villa and England star pleads guilty to careless driving charges

The footballer could be banned from driving when he is sentenced next month.

Jack Grealish
Image: Jack Grealish captains Aston Villa in the Premier League
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Aston Villa and England footballer Jack Grealish has pleaded guilty to two charges of careless driving.

The 25-year-old, who captains Villa, entered his pleas at Birmingham Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

One of the offences is in connection with a collision involving his £80,000 Range Rover in Dickens Heath, near Solihull, on 29 March, six days after lockdown restrictions were imposed nationwide.

Damage to the Range Rover driven by Jack Grealish
Image: Damage to the Range Rover driven by Grealish

The winger, of Barnt Green, Worcestershire, did not appear in court but, entering pleas through his lawyer, admitted driving without due care.

The March incident came less than 24 hours after he issued a Twitter video message urging others to stay home and protect the NHS.

He also admitted a second charge of careless driving relating to allegations he drove without due care and attention on the M42, the A446 and on Bodymoor Heath Road, the site of Villa's training complex on 18 October.

Media outside Birmingham MagistratesÕ Court where Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has admitted careless driving in connection with a crash during MarchÕs coronavirus lockdown.
Image: The footballer did not appear at Birmingham Magistrates' Court but entered pleas through his lawyer

He had denied two other charges connected to the Dickens Heath incident of failing to stop and failing to report the incident.

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The Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence and the charges were dismissed.

District Judge John Bristow said Mr Grealish could face a driving ban as he already had six penalty points on his driving licence for a 2018 motorway speeding offence.

Following a short adjournment and submissions by Grealish's lawyer, the judge adjourned the Villa captain's sentencing to 15 December.