22 Kids and Counting star Noel Radford handed fine and six points

by · Mail Online

The father of Britain's largest family was today ordered to pay £1,460 for failing to say who was driving his Porsche when it was caught breaking the speed limit.

Noel Radford, star of Channel 5 series '22 Kids and Counting', was accused of driving the car – which has personalised plates - at 52mph in a 40mph zone.

However despite twice being written to by police he failed to identify who was behind the wheel, a court heard today.

He today pleaded guilty to failing to provide information about who was driving the Porsche.

Noel Radford, star of Channel 5 series '22 Kids and Counting', was today ordered to pay £1,460 for failing to say who was driving his Porsche when it was caught breaking the speed limit. He was accused of driving the car at 52mph in a 40mph zone
 Noel and Sue Radford (pictured with their family) have come a long way from their former days of financial hardship. They now star in the fifth series of their reality show '22 Kids and Counting' and they boast a much more lavish lifestyle

But the speeding charge against him was dropped after the prosecution offered no evidence.

Radford was given six penalty points on his licence and fined £900, with costs and a surcharge taking the total bill to £1,460.

Dressed in jeans, a padded jacket and a pale blue jumper, Radford represented himself at a brief hearing at Lancaster Magistrates Court.

After being fined, he was warned that if he did not pay up in time 'we are talking about bailiffs and that sort of thing'.

Asked by the court clerk how long it would take, Radford replied: 'Over the next three months.'

Last month Radford told the family's 500,000 Instagram followers that he had evidence that he had told police who was driving the car but 'they lost it'.

He also claimed the car had been flashed at 47mph.

Britain's biggest family - famously known as The Radfords - have been in the public eye since 2012 when they first starred in the documentary '15 Kids and Counting'.

Now social media stars, they have come a long way from their former days of financial hardship and budgeting with military precision to get by on a strict £250 weekly shopping limit.

Today Noel and Sue Radford, who starred in the fifth series of their reality show '22 Kids and Counting' this year, now boast a much more lavish lifestyle.

Radford revealed in the couple's recently published new book The Radfords: Making Life Count they had bought three Porsches in as many years.

They bought their first model not long after Sue's 46th birthday, but Mr Radford said they ditched it to replace it with another one.

'Then we got rid of that Porsche, because it was c**p,' he wrote.

'Then a bit later, in September 2023, we got another Porsche.'

Radford (pictured here with some of his 22 children) was given six penalty points on his licence and fined £900, with costs and a surcharge taking the total bill to £1,460

Prosecutor Malcolm Isherwood said the car was recorded by a speed camera travelling at 52mph on a 40mph stretch of the A683 near the Radfords' home in Morecambe, Lancashire on November 6 last year.

A notice of intended prosecution was sent to his home address as the registered keeper, he said, along with a reminder when he didn't respond.

'Nothing was received in relation to that,' Mr Isherwood said.

Asked if he continued to plead not guilty to the speeding offence, Radford replied: 'Yeah.'

But questioned by the court clerk over whether he maintained his not guilty plea for failing to provide information about who was driving, he answered: 'Guilty to that.'

The court heard Radford currently had a 'clean' licence.

Magistrates briefly adjourned before chair of the bench Kevin Kendall returned to tell Radford that in addition to six penalty points, the court would have imposed the maximum £1,000 fine.

However he was given a ten per cent reduction for his guilty plea, meaning the fine was reduced to £900.

During the latest series of their reality show Mr Radford told his wife Sue (pictured) that he wanted to work 'one or two days a week' so that he could start 'enjoying life'

In addition Radford was ordered to pay £200 prosecution costs and a £360 victim surcharge.

Saying a collection order would be issued, Mr Kendall said: 'It means that if you fail to pay we are talking about bailiffs and that sort of thing which you surely would not want.'

Asked about the speeding allegation by the court clerk, Mr Isherwood said: 'The Crown offer no evidence in relation to it.'

After asking Radford if he had any questions, she told him: 'Mr Radford, you're free to go.'

He made no comment as he left court accompanied by one of his daughters.

Read More

Sue Radford gets emotional as her dream of a big country home comes  crashing down

The hearing comes after Radford last month slammed claims that he had 'skipped' court over the allegations to take his family on holiday to Florida.

It was the family's seventh holiday to the US in two years, and their nineteenth trip this year.

A day before his expected trial date he appeared in a video on his family Instagram account captioned: 'How do you cope in the heat? It's been scorching in Florida!'

In response to media reports, he posted: 'Absolutely ridiculous. The courts have known for months we were away on holiday so no skipping court.

'Also we have never not said who was driving the car which we can evidence sent off but they lost it. Thankfully I have this on my bank statement.'

He also branded reports of the case as 'beyond ridiculous', adding: 'Trying to make out the speeding in our Porsche was like I was doing 100mph.

'It was 47 on a bypass that goes into a 50 then 70.'

Radford was charged last December after being accused of speeding in his Porsche along the Bay Gateway in Morecambe, Lancashire, on November 6 last year.

He was also charged with failing to give information relating to the identification of the driver of a Porsche.

The couple  are estimated to have spent a whopping £60,000 on a three-week break to Florida – their 18th holiday in just 20 months

During the latest series, Mr Radford - who runs a pie shop near his family's 10-bedroom Lancashire home - told his wife Sue, 49, that he wanted to work 'one or two days a week' so that he could start 'enjoying life'.

In February this year they showed followers how they were travelling in style in their £40,000 motorhome, declaring it the 'best thing' they had ever purchased.

Read More

22 Kids And Counting fans blast 'boring and disappointing' change to series

Other examples of their spending include a hot tub - reportedly worth £27,000 - installed in their garden in Morecambe, Lancashire, and spending £7,000 on Christmas presents in 2022.

In September last year the family are estimated to have spent a whopping £60,000 on a three-week break to Florida – their 18th holiday in just 20 months.

Along with 20 of their children plus grandchildren and their older children's partners, they rented a huge Miami villa complete with a pool, tennis court, pool table and even its own golf course.

According to marketing experts, the couple – who have amassed 505,000 followers on Instagram plus 200,000 on TikTok as well as 358,000 YouTube subscribers – are likely to earn as much as £15,000 for a single post.

In the past two years, they have worked with brands such as George at Asda, The Next Step, Emma mattresses, Frubes, StudioCanal and EE on sponsored posts.

The Bay Gateway is a three-mile-long dual carriageway between Heysham and his hometown in Lancashire which opened in 2016.