THE driver who caused the death of Ringwood teenager Jade Clark told his wife a series of lies, a court heard today.

Brian Hampton, 58, stands accused of perverting the course of justice in the A31 crash which claimed the 16-year-old scooter rider’s life.

Giving evidence Maureen Hampton told Bournemouth Crown Court that her husband Brian Hampton had called her the evening of the collision, February 24, to say his Volvo XC90 had stopped due to a problem with the engine.

She said the following day she called Hampton. “I asked about the car and he said it was in a garage in Poole.”

Mrs Hampton said her husband had told her he was staying in Poole while he found a way to get the car and himself back to Kent where they lived. But the jury were shown a bank statement which indicated he had been staying at a Holiday Inn in Kent – 10 minutes from home.

Prosecutor Simon Jones also showed the jury a visa debit receipt from MC Motors for £2973.24 for the repairs made on Brian Hampton’s Volxo XC90.

Mrs Hampton told the court she didn’t know her husband was disqualified from driving on the day the accident happened and was unaware he’d appeared in court and received a driving ban on June 29, 2012. The 26-month ban followed a drink drive conviction.

An extract of a letter written by Hampton to his wife in June after he was charged by police was also read to the court. It said: “I was too scared to tell you about it [the driving ban], and I knew that if I told work I would be sacked. So tried to bluff it out until the ban was over.

“I swear with all my heart that I did not hit that poor girl on the scooter.”

The court has previously heard that Hampton, 58, pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving on February 24 this year. He has also admitted to driving without insurance and while disqualified.

Pierce Wauchope, representing Hampton, put it to Mrs Hampton that there were differences in her statements to police.

She replied: “I was in shock. One minute a young girl had died. He was being accused of hit and run. I had also found out he had lost his licence. I was in turmoil.”

Hampton, a health and safety project manager for Signalling Solutions since 2009, stands accused of perverting the course of justice by arranging for collision damage to be repaired to his Volvo XC90 in a bid to evade justice.

CCTV footage was shown to the court on Monday of Hampton looking at the front of his car the day after the collision outside the Premier Inn in Holes Bay, Poole.

Hampton, of Hornash Lane in Shadoxhurst, Ashford, Kent, denies the charge. The trial continues.