Assistant police chief admits causing crash while trying to ring husband Sedgefield MP Phil Wilson

Kerrin Wilson, who is a serving officer with Lincolnshire Police, was ordered to pay £1,460 in fines and costs at a hearing before Nottingham magistrates on Thursday.

Lincolnshire Police said Wilson "accepted from the outset that she was at fault in the collision".

The 51-year-old, from Heighington, County Durham, was summonsed although she did not appear and was represented in court by her solicitor.

Wilson, who had previously admitted driving without due care and attention, also received seven points on her licence.

The head-on crash happened as Wilson was pulling out of the force's headquarters, in Deepdale Lane, Nettleham, on December 21 last year.

Driving at about 15mph and straddling both lanes, she had been attempting to find the Bluetooth button on the steering wheel of a new car in order to call her husband, the MP for Sedgefield Phil Wilson, when the crash happened.

According to the force, Wilson, who was driving a Mini, and the other female driver were both treated for minor injuries.

After the hearing, Wilson, in a statement released through the force, said: "Never having been in an accident at which I was at fault this incident has really shaken me.

"I would like to apologise to the other driver and thank the officers involved in the investigation.

"It is not easy for them to investigate a senior officer but they have done so with due diligence, respect and professionalism throughout."

She added: "If there is any message I can give to other drivers from my experience it is that we need to be fully focused on driving when we are behind the wheel, and to get familiar with any new car as quickly as possible before driving it."

Following the court case, Lincolnshire Police said: "Ms Wilson accepted from the outset that she was at fault in the collision, the summons and the penalty imposed by the court.

"As is always the case in these circumstances, an internal conduct enquiry will follow."

Wilson was appointed Assistant Chief Constable of Lincolnshire Police in summer 2018.

She was previously head of Cleveland & Durham Police Special Operations Unit, and had previously served with forces in Durham, North Yorkshire and Cleveland.