Katie Price fined over lane 'drift' in pink horsebox

The model, 32, was seen by police officers on a mobile phone while behind the wheel on the A23 at Bolney, West Sussex.

Her actions caused two other vehicles to move away as her 7.5 tonne vehicle drifted into their lane at 11.55am on February 19, magistrates heard.

Price was among eight people, including four adults and four children, travelling to Euro Disney in the vehicle, which she had driven only twice before.

Prosecutors said she was seen on the phone for two to three seconds by two officers after they drove alongside her in a patrol vehicle following the “careless” manoeuvre into the opposite lane.

In her evidence to the court, Price denied using her phone behind the wheel, insisting she had no reason to because the horsebox was equipped with hands-free Bluetooth equipment.

Price, who already had seven points on her licence, was found guilty of not being in proper control of a vehicle.

She was fined 1,000 at Mid Sussex Magistrates’ Court in Haywards Heath. She also had three points added to her licence.

Chairwoman of the bench Valerie Bender said: “We have considered the evidence in the offence and the relevant issue in this case is: was the driver distracted from driving with proper control by holding something in her hand?

“Our findings on the disputed issues are visual evidence from the DVD showing the horsebox to cross from lane one to lane two.

“Both officers gave evidence that they saw Miss Price holding a mobile phone in her right hand whilst driving.

“We found the police officers to be credible witnesses. We are satisfied that the prosecution have proved the charge of driving whilst not in a position to have proper control beyond reasonable doubt.”

Price declined to comment after the hearing.

Outside court, Nick Freeman, the celebrity lawyer representing Price, said an appeal would be lodged against both conviction and sentence.

Price, who arrived for the trial dressed in a fur-trimmed coat and black leggings, showed no emotion as she was convicted in front of her husband, cagefighter Alex Reid, who was in the courtroom’s public seating area.

In her evidence, she said she veered “because I’m a typical woman driver” and denied using her gem-studded BlackBerry phone behind the wheel.

She said it was only the third time she had driven the vehicle and was “probably a bit scared” driving on a motorway.

She told police in a statement she may have been spraying perfume at the time she was seen using her mobile phone.