Jay Blades' charge of driving while using phone dropped, as police officer due to give evidence 'unavailable'
17 September 2024, 11:38
TV presenter Jay Blades has had a charge of driving while using his phone dropped because a key witness was unavailable.
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The embattled Repair Shop star, 54, had earlier pleaded not guilty to using a handheld mobile device while driving his Land Rover in Millfields Way in Wombourne, Staffordshire, on April 2.
Blades is also facing a separate, charge of coercive behaviour against his wife, for which the case is ongoing.
In a two-minute hearing at Walsall Magistrates Court, Blades, from Claverley, near Wolverhampton, spoke to confirm that his plea to the charge remained not guilty, before prosecutor Zulqarnain Saeed confirmed the Crown was offering no evidence.
Mr Saeed said that the police officer who was due to give evidence was "unavailable", meaning the case would no longer go ahead.
Magistrate Neil Ravenscroft told Blades, who stood at the back of the court with his hands clasped behind his back: "The matter will be dismissed and you are free to go."
Blades replied "thank you, sir" before leaving the court.
He is facing separate accusations of coercive and controlling behaviour against his wife. He is set to appear at Worcester Crown Court in October to enter a plea.
Blades appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates' court last Friday in connection with the charge, having been charged by West Mercia Police with one count of engaging in controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship.
The charge relates to his fitness instructor wife Lisa Zbozen, who announced on her Instagram page on May 2 that their relationship was over.
The couple married in the grounds of a beachfront villa in Barbados on November 22, 2022.
Blades who was made an MBE for services to craft in 2022, has also resigned from the King's Foundation charity, and his role as chancellor at Buckinghamshire New University.
