A lady who damaged her married boyfriend's limo is unlikely to see any low cost woman's car insurance for quite some time.
Diana Higgins, 32 and from Paisley, has been banned from driving following two incidents in May and June 2006 in which she was caught driving without a licence and without a car insurance policy. She had been driving a Vauxhall Cavalier that had been given to her by her 51-year-old boyfriend James Stokes.
It is not the first time Ms Higgins has been in court with an offence connected with Mr Stokes. In October 2005 she was convicted of wilfully and recklessly damaging his Jaguar and his wife's Honda after he tried to end their relationship.
Her defence agent Gordon Ritchie explained that Ms Higgins' situation was not a normal one, describing her relationship with Mr Stokes as "bizarre".
Mr Ritchie said: "She became highly dependent upon [Mr Stokes] and so she felt betrayed when he told her that his wife had insisted it be brought to an end.
"When she appeared in court for that, he indicated to the court that the relationship would in fact be continuing, which it has.
"Basically, he remains married but continues to support Ms Higgins."
Lee-Anne Bass, of low cost women's car insurance company CoverGirl Car Insurance Services, commented: "This is certainly an unusual case for the courts to deal with.
"Considering everything, I think the loss of cheap motor insurance quotes is the least of Ms Higgins' driving worries as she will need to pass her test before she can take to the roads again."