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

Three weeks ago charges of theft and fraud were discontinued against PC Steven Abson after magistrates heard he was medically unfit.

This week PC Abson, 44, of Shotley Bridge, pleaded guilty by post to driving without insurance. Hougthon-le-Spring magistrates fined him £80 with £30 costs and had six penalty points imposed on his driving licence.

He had been initially charged 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.

"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 charged first in 1999, did not attend court on several occasions citing medical reasons.

Ms Clark told the court this week that Abson had been driving without insurance entirely by accident. She said he had been insured by an independent company which was taken over.

He had wrongly believed his policy would automatically be taken on by the new firm and so was without insurance.

A Durham Constabulary spokesman said that PC Abson would stay suspended until he appeared before the Professional Standards Misconduct Panel, chaired by Assistant Chief Constable Ron Hogg, on a date to be fixed