A POLICE officer is facing an internal disciplinary hearing after being fined by magistrates yesterday for driving without insurance.

Three weeks ago, charges of theft and fraud were discontinued against County Durham police officer Steven Abson after magistrates at Houghton-le-Spring heard he was in an unfit medical condition.

PC Abson pleaded guilty by post yesterday to driving without insurance. He was ordered to pay an £80 fine, £30 costs and had six penalty points imposed on his driving licence.

He had been charged initially with the theft of a vehicle excise licence and fraudulently using a vehicle excise licence. Those charges were dropped on Monday, April 2, after David Mayhew, lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, issued a notice of discontinuance.

He said: "The Crown has decided to discontinue the matter, not on the merits of the case but because of the defence's statement of medical condition which has been produced.

"The Crown made a decision - in the light of that - that it would not be in the public's interest to pursue the matter any further."

At the same hearing, defence solicitor Michelle Clark said: "It became apparent that due to his ill health he was unable to stand trial. His mental health was in such a precarious state the matter could not proceed."

Mr Abson, who was first charged in 1999, did not attend court on several occasions claiming medical reasons.

Speaking yesterday, Ms Clark said Mr Abson, 44, of Shotley Bridge, had been driving without insurance entirely by accident.

She said Mr Abson had been insured by an independent company which was taken over.

Mr Abson had wrongly believed his policy would automatically be taken on by the new company and so was without insurance, she added.

A spokesman for Durham Constabulary said that Mr Abson would remain suspended until he appeared before the Professional Standards Misconduct Panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, on a date to be arranged.