'Rantzen giggled as she failed to stop at zebra'

Former That's Life presenter Esther Rantzen giggled after cutting across two women on a zebra crossing, a court heard today.

The head of the Childline charity claimed she had not seen the pedestrians as her daughter had been reading her poetry as she drove, the court was told.

Miss Rantzen, 64, was driving her daughter in a BMW 750i when she failed to stop for the women on the crossing in Upper Woburn Place in June last year.

Police motorcyclist Sergeant Kevin McKeown had been following as she drove towards central London at lunchtime and immediately pulled her over. "The driver was very giggly," he told Highbury Corner Magistrates Court this afternoon.

"When she got out she was very giggly still and stated she was sorry. She said she had been listening to her daughter," he said.

The officer issued her with a ?60 fixed penalty ticket. Miss Rantzen complained that her sight was obscured by the windscreen side pillar. "I said it was a matter of moving your neck and head so you could see around it," he said.

She returned to her car and there was a noticeable change of demeanour."

Sergeant McKeown said the car had "just continued across the crossing as the two pedestrians were actually still on it".

The officer said that although the two women didn't react he thought this was just "a normal reaction of pedestrians trying to cross at a crossing in central London".

After stopping at the crossing to allow the pedestrians over the road the officer drove on to stop the BMW.

Miss Rantzen, of Hampstead, has pleaded not guilty to failing to give way to pedestrians at a zebra crossing. The case continues.