Case postponed as accused too fat to get into court
May 23rd, 2011 - 8:59 pm ICT by IANSLondon, May 23 (IANS) A woman in Britain had her case postponed because she was too fat to get into court.
The 43-year-old fraud suspect told officials she could not climb the stairs to a narrow doorway leading to the dock to face the 13 charges against her, according to The Sun Monday.
Beverley Douglas instead sat outside the courtroom while Judge Roger Chapple agreed to adjourn the hearing so that she can be tried in a more accessible dock.
She is accused of pocketing thousands of pounds of state handouts while working as a bus driver and CCTV operator.
The Sun tracked Douglas to her ground-floor flat, where she denied any knowledge of last Wednesday’s problems at old-fashioned Inner London Crown Court. She wheezed: “It’s just been changed to another date.”
The clinically obese suspect added she had no idea about any charges against her, before leaving her home, squeezing into her red Dodge Avenger and driving off.
Douglas, of Thornton Heath, South London, faces 13 fraud raps relating to benefits claimed between March 2004 and February 2009 while she was working, according to Sun.
- Mike Epps sued by photographer Douglas Thornton - Jan 11, 2011
- Jay-Z expected prison for life after shooting brother - Nov 23, 2010
- Phil Tufnell's ex-wife 'flees' following benefit fraud scam - Apr 23, 2010
- Rapper Big Sean accepts plea bargain - Oct 27, 2011
- Paris Hilton's low-cut top nearly reveals all in her latest fashion faux pas - Feb 26, 2011
- Brit jail teacher suspended for sex movie with murderer - Nov 22, 2010
- 83-yr-old UK grandma chases burglar, brings him to justice - Feb 01, 2011
- Married prison chaplain in UK jailed for 8-months for sex with inmate - Mar 16, 2011
- Michael Douglas's ex wife loses Wall Street cash bid - Nov 16, 2010
- Catherine Zeta-Jones takes marriage tips from father-in-law - Feb 14, 2011
- Ed Miliband 'thanks God' he is not married to mother of his children - Jan 31, 2011
- My boyfriends sleep on sofa at my parents' house, says Pixie Lott - Sep 25, 2010
- Details about Liz Corrie's exit from 'Coronation Street' revealed - Mar 09, 2011
- Dress trouble for Julia Roberts - Mar 26, 2012
- James Thornton is intent on leaving the soap 'Emmerdale' - Nov 29, 2011
Tags: bus driver, court london, courtroom, dodge, dodge avenger, doorway, fraud, inner london crown court, london crown, roger chapple, south london, stairs, state handouts, sun, thornton heath