Ant McPartlin, the taller half of canny ITV entertainment duo Ant & Dec, was allegedly twice the drink drive limit when he was involved in a road traffic accident last month.
McPartlin, 42, was involved in a three car collision on the afternoon of Sunday, 18th March 2018. The incident took place in Richmond, West London when McPartlin and his mother, Christine Woodhall, were returning home having just walked their dogs in Richmond Park.
It has been reported, although not confirmed, that McPartlin's black Mini Cooper veered onto the wrong side of the road when exiting a roundabout. Details of the incident are unclear, but it is known that the black Mini Cooper collided with at least one of the other vehicles. A young child passenger in one of the vehicles had to undergo hospital treatment as a result of the collision.
The Geordie star was due to appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on Wednesday, 4th April, but the defence successfully applied for an adjournment on the basis that McPartlin was undergoing an intensive phase of his alcohol rehabilitation programme. The hearing has now been rescheduled for Monday, 16th April at the same court.
Details of the actual charge have been reported in today's Sunday Mirror. The charge to be put to McPartlin is as follows: "That you drove a motor vehicle, namely a Black Mini, [registration number], after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in your breath, namely 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeded the prescribed limit."
This is an offence under section 5(1)(a) of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
The prescribed limit of alcohol is 35 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath, so McPartlin stands accused of driving just over twice the limit.
Of course McPartlin could deny that charge, but his self-admission to an alcohol rehab clinic suggests otherwise.
The newspapers, understandably, are placing a big emphasis on the fact that the offence carries a theoretical maximum penalty of 6 months imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine. However, the Magistrates will almost certainly go along with the Magistrates' Court Sentencing Guidelines for such an offence, which rule a custodial sentence in all but the most extreme of circumstances.
The offence McPartlin stands accused of is aggravated by the following factors:
- That he was carrying a passenger at the time;
- That he was involved in an accident in which another person was injured;
- That he drove through a very busy part of London with lots of traffic and pedestrians.
- There is some indication that the standard of his driving was poor - e.g. witnesses have said that he exited a roundabout on the wrong side of the road.
It is mitigated by the following factors:
- That he has no relevant previous convictions (e.g. he hasn't been convicted of a similar offence previously);
- That he is of previous good character;
- That he has shown remorse by admitting himself to an alcohol rehab clinic.
- That he has admitted his guilt at the first opportunity (we really would expect him to do that).
Realistically, weighing up everything we currently know, McPartlin will receive a Band C fine. Given his vast earnings, that will probably amount to several thousand pounds (fines in excess of £5,000 are virtually unheard of, despite the theoretical maximum being an unlimited fine). In addition he will receive a driving ban of approximately 20 months. The court will probably offer him the chance of completing a drink drive rehabilitation course, which would reduce a 20 month ban by about 5 months. On completion of the ban he would then need to reapply to the DVLA for his licence. The court will also order him to make a contribution towards prosecution costs (probably in the region of £100) and pay the victim surcharge (the current maximum when a fine is imposed is £170).
Of course this is all speculation on our part, albeit informed speculation. We'll have to see what happens when he appears at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on 16th April.
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