John Stones has been convicted of speeding for a 43mph drive on a 30mph country lane near his Cheshire home, according to Press Association reporting carried by Yahoo Sports.
The offence was recorded at 10:40 BST on 8 May in Stones’s £150,000 Range Rover. Cheshire Police wrote to him twice. He answered the first letter on 28 May giving his driver details, then joined up with England for the World Cup. The second letter, offering him a fixed penalty and a way to keep the matter out of court, arrived while nobody was at the house.
“This has been found by chance”
The 32-year-old was dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure and set out his side in writing to the court.
“The reason I am only responding to the offence now is because I represent our country for football and so I have not been home and seen any post,” he wrote to Warrington Magistrates’ Court.
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“I sent off my letter on the 28th May to give my details, I went off to join England. We were there until the 19th July. I went on holiday and then moved to Milan, so this has been found by chance, as no-one has been home for almost four months.”
He added: “Nothing to say about the speeding.”
£1,052 and four points, no ban
On top of the £666 fine, the magistrate added £120 in costs and a £266 victim surcharge, taking Stones’s total bill to £1,052. The four penalty points sit on his licence but do not carry a driving disqualification.
Cheshire to the San Siro
The empty house was the result of the biggest move of Stones’s career: he left Manchester City for Inter Milan in the summer transfer window. He made his competitive debut for Inter on 22 August, coming on for his former Manchester City teammate Manuel Akanji in a 4-1 win over Monza on the opening weekend of Serie A.
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