Yahoo Finance Real Housewives star Dawn Ward accused of racist abuse at train station and possession of cocaine
Reality show star Dawn Ward is accused of racially abusing two men at Euston Station when she was also allegedly caught carrying cocaine.
The 47-year-old, who stars in Real Housewives of Cheshire, is set to face a criminal trial over the allegations, which date back to an incident at the busy railway station in October last year.
The mother-of-four and wife of ex-Premier League striker Ashley Ward is accused of targeting Samuel and Jake Jacobs on race grounds, intending to cause both of them “harassment, alarm or distress”.
It is said Ward was also in possession of a small amount of class A drug cocaine at the time of the incident.
She denies all the charges, but will not face her trial until March 2022 due to chronic delays in the criminal justice system.
Ward, an interior designer who lives in a £15 million Cheshire mansion, shot to fame as a central character in the ITVBe reality show Real Housewives of Cheshire.
She missed her first court appearance last month after being struck down - along with her husband and daughters Charlie and Aston - with coronavirus following a family holiday to Mykonos.
The businesswoman said she spent several weeks in bed recovering from the virus, suffering from aching, shaking, and headaches.
At Inner London crown court yesterday, Ward appeared before Judge Jeremy Donne QC via videolink from her luxury Warford Hall home.
Wearing a blue jacket over a white top, the WAG only spoke to confirm her name during a brief hearing that was beset by technical problems.
She was unable to enter pleas to the charges due to the poor quality of the videolink connection, but her barrister Lisa Judge told the court: “It is not guilty to all three counts.”
Ward’s case will be ready for trial in March next year, but it will have to wait another 12 months to be heard due to the current backlog of cases in the justice system.
Judge Donne agreed that Ward will formally enter her pleas on the first day of the three-day trial, which is set for March 14, 2022.
“I apologise for the poor sound quality but we’ve been able to do everything that would normally be done at this hearing,” he told her. “Dates have been set for the preparation of this case.”
Ward, who had been a rumoured contestant on the latest series of Dancing on Ice, returned to ITVBe screens this month for the 12th series of Real Housewives of Cheshire.
She has been freed by the court on unconditional bail until her trial in 18 months’ time.
Ward is accused of two counts of racially aggravated intentional harassment, alarm, or distress – contrary to the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 - and a charge of possession of a class A drug.
