Former England footballer Frank Lampard has been seen for the first time since he escaped prosecution after being caught on video driving his £250,000 Mercedes G wagon holding a coffee and his mobile phone.
The ex-Chelsea star had been charged with ‘using a handheld mobile phone/device while driving a motor vehicle on a road’ and was due in court on Monday.
But the 43-year-old, who is married to Christine Bleakley, denied the offence and hired Nick Freeman – a lawyer known as ‘Mr Loophole’ – to defend him.
Today, he was seen returning to his London home in his Bentley for the first time since authorities said there was not enough evidence to prosecute him.
Vigilante cyclist Mike van Erp, who caught Lampard driving with a phone in one hand and a coffee in the other raged ‘justice is broken’ and slammed the former footballer for ‘getting off scot-free’ despite his video recording of the incident in Kensington, west London.
The Dutch YouTuber, known as CyclingMikey, claimed he had spoken to police officers who admitted cases are being ‘binned left and right to reduce the massive backlog’ in courts caused by the pandemic.
The Crown Prosecution Service suddenly stopped its prosecution on Friday, despite the video showing him holding both items in his car. Prosecutors believed the footage did not prove whether the phone was on or not.
Former England footballer Frank Lampard has been seen for the first time since he escaped prosecution after being caught on video driving his £250,000 Mercedes G wagon holding a coffee and his mobile phone
Today, he was seen returning to his London home for the first time since authorities said there was not enough evidence to prosecute him
The footage shows Lampard with a cup of takeaway coffee in his right hand and a mobile phone in his left one
Frank Lampard was caught on video driving his £250,000 Mercedes G wagon in Kensington and car was stationary at time
Lampard pleaded not guilty and CPS dropped case due to ‘insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction’
Christine Lampard and Frank Lampard at the Glamour Women Of The Year Awards, Arrivals, Berkeley Square Gardens in 2017
Mike van Erp (pictured) claims to have caught more than 350 drivers breaking the law last year alone, and says he was responsible for 574 points and £35,400 dished out in fines
Mr van Erp slammed Lampard and the decision today, telling Road.cc: ‘I think he’s gotten off scot-free as the case was discontinued.
‘A couple of coppers have said the justice system is broken and they are binning cases left and right to reduce the massive backlog.’
The Alliance of British Drivers told MailOnline: ‘There is only one way to drive and that’s with two hands on the steering wheel.
‘And you’re better off leaving any pets in a cage or on the floor because if you brake they can become a missile.’
And the London Road Safety Council added: ‘All road users should take the greatest care for their own safety and the safety of others.
‘Road users who allow themselves to become distracted can be responsible for causing grief and misery to others and, everyone, whoever they are, should set themselves the highest standards on the roads.’
The case was deemed set to fail because it could not prove the footballer-turned-manager was using the phone for interactive communications.
Footage, taken on a GoPro mounted on Mr van Erp’s head, shows the valuable Mercedes stationary in traffic.
Lampard has a cup of coffee in his right hand and is holding a phone in his left, with a black and white dog in the passenger seat.
He looks startled before Mr van Erp alleged: ‘He’s on his phone, clearly holding and talking on his phone at the same time. And holding a coffee as well.’
Mr Freeman told MailOnline Lampard had been found not guilty due to the case being abandoned.
He said: ‘The Crown Prosecution Service have now concluded three days before the case was due before court there was insufficient evidence.
‘It came after we served a statement from a passenger in the car.
‘They would have had to prove he was driving, he was using his mobile phone, that he was using it for an interactive purpose.
‘All that would have needed to have been beyond reasonable doubt. He pleaded not guilty and they dropped the case, so he’s been found not guilty.’
Lampard can be seen holding the mobile phone upwards towards his face but has his mouth closed in all of the footage
A different shot of him taken by Mr van Erp appears to show the phone on a locked screen, suggesting it was not being used
There was also another unseen passenger in the car, as well as a dog sitting on the seat next to the football player
The Met Police have previously said Lampard admitted being behind the wheel of the Mercedes and was offered a fixed penalty fine earlier this year, but failed to pay it.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said the case had been shelved due to a lack of evidence.
They said: ‘After examining a file of evidence submitted by the Metropolitan Police Service, we concluded, in accordance with our legal test, there was insufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction.’
Mr van Erp had sent the footage to police and said he was ‘pretty disgusted’ with what he had seen.
Those sentiments are echoed by drivers up and down the country who have been successfully prosecuted for using a mobile device at the wheel.
Fabella Sab said, who regularly uses her vehicle to drive her elderly mother, said it is ‘one rule for the rich and famous and one rule for the rest of us’.
She claimed she was simply checking her sat nav when an officer approached.
Ms Sab added: ‘If I had the money to hire a lawyer like that, then I’d have gotten off.
‘It has always been one rule for the rich and famous and one rule for the rest of us. It is just unfair and makes my blood boil.’
Another motorist, who wished to remain anonymous, said she had to check her phone at the wheel after being told her father was nearing the end of his life.
She said: ‘I automatically picked up my phone as I had just been informed my father was nearing the end of his life and I thought it may be the care home telling me he had passed.
‘So when I see all these people getting off while the rest of us suffer, it makes me so angry and it is so unfair.’
Mr van Erp has previously used his helmet-mounted GoPro footage to bust motorists he accuses of breaking road traffic laws.
His highest profile snag was Guy Ritchie, who was banned from driving for six months last summer after he was confronted on camera.
Mr van Erp claims to have caught more than 350 drivers breaking the law last year alone, and says he was responsible for 574 points and £35,400 dished out in fines.
Mr Freeman earned his ‘Mr Loophole’ nickname after making a lucrative career out of finding technical faults with driving charges for high-profile clients.
In 2018, he got David Beckham off a speeding fine after pointing out legal papers had been served too late.
And in 2006, he fought for Jeremy Clarkson and saw his speeding case dropped after revealing there was no proof the former Top Gear host was driving a loaned Alfa Romeo snapped doing 82mph in a 50mph zone.
Last summer, West Londoner van Erp filmed Hollywood director Ritchie texting at the wheel while stationary in Hyde Park and posts videos of all his triumphs on his ‘CyclingMikey’ YouTube channel under names like ‘Give me the finger, get a Fixed Penalty Notice’, ‘A total scofflaw’ and ‘quite a satisfying piece of justice’.
The vigilante caught Guy Ritchie in Hyde Park when the Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels director, 53, was typing on his phone while stationary.
He videoed Ritchie – who used to be married to Madonna – before alerting the police.
Mr van Erp, a carer and full-time roller-skating instructor, has 64,700 subscribers and has described the ease with which he can land law-breaking drivers with a fine and possible disqualification.
Explaining his motivation behind his crime-busting passion, he told MailOnline: ‘I definitely think what I am doing is keeping the roads safe.
‘The points system is designed to get people to drive better.
‘I have had quite a lot of anonymous death threats through what I do.
‘My dad was killed by a drink-driver when I was 19, I still remember him, so I feel very strongly about road safety.
‘I first got my helmet camera in 2006 and realised its potential.’
Mr van Erp’s other high-profile scalps include retired boxer Chris Eubank, who was claimed he was a police officer when he was challenged about using his mobile phone at the wheel of his £370,000 Rolls Royce – before promptly driving off and jumping a red light.
Mr van Erp challenged Eubank for having his phone in his hands but did not recognise the famous fighter, asking him during the confrontation: ‘Are you famous?’
Eubank was handed three penalty points and ordered to pay £280 in costs at Bromley Magistrates’ Court after admitting to failing to comply with the indication given by a traffic sign.
The law states you can only use a hand-held device behind the wheel if the car is safely parked.
Crucially, this does not include if you are waiting at traffic lights or in a queue.
The only exception is for emergency calls when it is not safe to stop.
Punishment is six penalty points and a £200 fine, or if a driver has passed less than two weeks earlier they can even lose their licence.
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