THE Marquess of Blandford has been fined £50 for missing a court appearance.

He has also lost a legal bid to keep secret the fact he has been charged with dangerous driving and had a warrant out for his arrest.

The Duke of Malborough's son Charles Spencer-Churchill was charged with dangerous driving on March 20 after an incident on January 6 on the A4260 near Deddington in north Oxfordshire, Thames Valley Police said.

On Tuesday of last week Banbury magistrates granted a temporary order preventing the reporting of the case, but district judge Brian Loosley, sitting at Oxford Magistrates' Court today, refused to extend the order.

Spencer-Churchill's barrister Paul Jackson told magistrates another case of dangerous driving, due to be heard in Coventry later this month, could be affected by any publicity on the latest charge.

Spencer-Churchill, 51, was due to appear before magistrates last week accused of dangerous driving, but did not attend.

Magistrates put out a warrant for his arrest and he went to court the next day.

Spencer-Churchill, who is also known as Jamie Blandford, was charged with failing to appear and pleaded not guilty.

He told magistrates he had started out for court on Tuesday but was late because he had to drop off his son at Adderbury.

He said he was driving to court when he heard on the radio that a warrant for his arrest had been issued.

Blandford said he panicked and went home instead of carrying on to court.

He said he spent the rest of the day trying to contact his legal representative but could not until it was too late to attend court.

He surrendered to the court on the Wednesday morning.

Magistrates found Spencer-Churchill, of Wootton Downs Farmhouse, Wootton, near Woodstock, guilty of failing to appear and he was fined £50.

Spencer-Churchill, 51, who holds the title the Marquess of Blandford and is otherwise known as Jamie Blandford, is due before Banbury Magistrates' Court for a committal hearing on May 9.