A mother of two underage boys who hit the headlines after being caught behind the wheel on six occasions paid a hefty price for their traffic violations after being fined close to €5,000 by a court.

The string of offences happened between July 2015 and last March, when the boys were aged 12 and 16 respectively.Court documents show they were spotted in five different cars including a BMW and a Volkswagen.

In some cases the brothers refused to pull by the side when waved down by the police and were only arrested after a car chase.

The 40-year-old mother from Valletta, who runs a small shop, pleaded guilty to the charges related to four separate incidents, three of which involved her younger son, who turned 13 last month. These varied from allowing her car to be driven by an unlicensed person not covered by an insurance policy to not taking care of and neglecting her children.

Two of the convictions resulted in two €2,400 fines, each payable in monthly instalments within two years.

In the other cases, the court, presided over by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale, opted for a €50 fine. In the fourth case it decided in favour of a one-year conditional discharge. The latter sanction reflected the fact that the woman had already admitted to similar charges related to the same car, the magistrate noted.

The court rejected the prosecution’s request to confiscate the woman’s car and to suspend her driving licence, saying it wanted to give her one final chance.

“Next time you are back in court I will not hesitate to impound the vehicle and ban you from driving,” the mother and her elder son were sternly warned by the magistrate.

The 17-year-old admitted driving without a licence and an insurance policy, disobeying police orders and providing false particulars. He also pleaded guilty to reckless and dangerous driving.

As in his mother’s case, the court wanted to give him one final opportunity to reform himself and opted for a two-year conditional discharge during which he will be monitored by a probation officer.

Lawyers Giannella de Marco and Gianluca Caruana Curran were defence counsel.

Police Inspector Maria Stella Attard prosecuted.