Driving test candidates 'fondled'

A DRIVING test examiner stroked, poked and fondled the breasts of female learner drivers, a court was told yesterday.

Clinton Hadley, 35, allegedly put a hand on the breast of four women during their tests - all of whom passed - and promised one woman he would be 'nice to her' if she was 'nice to him'.

He also suggested the women remove clothing and asked one if she was wearing tights or stockings, David Iles, for the prosecution, told Oxford Crown Court.

Mr Hadley, of Ridgewood Gardens, Great Barr, West Midlands, denied four charges of indecent assault in November last year when he was on secondment to a driving test centre in Oxford.

The court was told he asked one woman to stop the car and leaned across to operate the rear windscreen washer while fondling her left breast for about 15 seconds. Two days later, when the second of the women was taking her test, Mr Hadley allegedly suggested she remove some clothing. Later she felt him touch her breast.

He used a favourite ploy of remarking how nervous a test candidate looked in an effort to make her feel more nervous and more vulnerable and compliant to his wishes, Mr Iles said.

He got one woman to stop the car in a secluded area where he repeatedly brushed against her breast, the court was told. Another candidate felt pressure on her left breast. When she objected, he said: 'I would be nice to you if you are nice to me.'

The trial continues today.