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A victim of stalking by her driving instructor has called for more protection for learner drivers following her ordeal. The victim, who started taking lessons from instructor Ashley Watson when she was 17 and living in foster care, says he started off friendly and then would not leave her alone, stalking her even after she reported him to the police. “He would follow me, he would spread lies about me, send me cards in the post,” she said of Watson. Despite being arrested and then wrongly accused by police herself, Watson was handed a suspended sentence and a seven-year restraining order.
The case prompted the BBC to make a freedom of information request, which found that the Driving and Vehicle Standards Agency had received more than 500 complaints of sexual or inappropriate behaviour by instructors between 2020 and 2023. Responding to the report, the agency said that the safety of learner drivers was its priority, and that all complaints about inappropriate conduct would be fully investigated.
The victim of Ashley Watson urged lawmakers to consider whether driving instructors ought to be considered in a position of trust, given the power that they have over their pupils. Currently, to become an approved driving instructor, an individual must be considered competent, knowledgeable, and a ‘fit and proper’ person. But campaigners say that the informal nature of the relationship between pupil and instructor can leave learners vulnerable to sexual abuse or stalking.
Michael Florek, another driving instructor in Gloucestershire, was found guilty of sexually assaulting five of his pupils while giving lessons. In a campaign coinciding with Watson’s case, Florek’s former students, Phoebe Horrocks and Morgane Chapman, both called for improved safeguards for pupils. “It’s normal for them to have your number to contact you, your details, your home address and so all of those factors can create such a vulnerability that enables the instructor to be in a position of trust,” they argued
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