Hayley Turner: Jockey escapes ban for using phone while driving

Ms Turner argued she needed her car for work

A top jockey has avoided a driving ban after pleading guilty to using her mobile phone while at the wheel.

Hayley Turner, a two-time winner at horse racing's Group One level, was driving a BMW in Newmarket, Suffolk, at the time of the offence on 5 January.

Ms Turner, 40, admitted the offence, which carries six penalty points, at Suffolk Magistrates' Court.

She had six points on her licence, but was spared a ban due to mitigating circumstances and instead fined £100.

The flat racing star, who told magistrates she would suffer from a loss of employment and be unable to pay her mortgage without access to her car, was also ordered to pay a £40 victim surcharge and costs of £110.

Ms Turner, who lives in Newmarket, was the first female rider in Britain to have 100 race wins in a year and in 2011 won both the July Cup at Newmarket and the Nunthorpe Stakes at York - both Group One races.

Originally from Nottingham, she retired from the sport in 2015 before making a comeback in 2017.