England and Lancashire’s cricketing hero Andrew ‘Freddie’ Flintoff, escaped speeding charges at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court thanks to his lawyer Nick Freeman, who is also known as Mr Loophole. The 30-year-old cricketer, whose home ground is in Manchester, escaped charges in the case due to a technicality.

Flintoff had faced these charges after he was allegedly caught speeding on 1st July last year. The star was captured on a speed camera apparently driving at 87mph in a temporary 50mph zone on the M62 motorway in Liverpool. Flintoff was driving somebody else’s car when he was apparently caught speeding. The car’s owner, an unknown woman from Bicester who had received the speeding ticket, joined Flintoff at the court hearing at Liverpool Magistrates' Court.



At the brief hearing, Flintoff only spoke to confirm his details. The Crown offered no evidence at the hearing, although prosecutor Sharon Bourne said that the Crown had originally wanted to produce ‘bad character’ evidence against the cricketer, who lives in Altrincham. However, when it was revealed that the police had posted Flintoff’s prosecution notice two days too late, they decided against it.



Mr Freeman convinced the Magistrate the police’s failure to send a notice on time meant that his client should be cleared of all charges. He said: “It is fundamental in any speeding case that the notice is sent and received within 14 days.” He then explained that the late arrival of prosecution notices was becoming a common problem in motoring offences. He said: “It happens a lot, if people care to look at it.”



Mr Freeman said that his celebrity client was pleased to have been cleared at the hearing. He said: “He is very relieved to have the matter disposed of. It happened last July and now he can concentrate on his cricket.”



Mr Freeman has gained notoriety for using defects in police procedures to help his rich and famous clients escape charges. He became renowned as Mr Loophole in 1999 while representing the Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. During the now-infamous case, Mr Freeman successfully argued that the Reds boss had an upset stomach and desperately needed the toilet, so was forced to drive along a motorway’s hard shoulder. Some of the other celebrities that Mr Freeman has successfully defended against driving offences include David Beckham and Ronnie O'Sullivan.

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Karri Madelline is a local freelance journalist who used to work for a beauty clinic as a manchester beauty model.