Ant McPartlin arrives home after he 'is arrested for drink driving'

Ant McPartlin arrives home after he 'is arrested for drink driving'



TV star Ant McPartlin has arrived home after he was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving.



A three-year-old girl was taken to hospital after the I'm A Celebrity presenter lost control of his Mini and crashed into two cars at around 4pm yesterday in Richmond, southwest London.



The 42-year-old, who is worth £60million, failed a roadside breathalyser test and was arrested by police and spent 10 hours in custody. The Metropolitan Police confirmed the TV presenter had been released 'under investigation'. He was spotted arriving home just before 3am this morning, following his arrest.



The troubled television personality allegedly crashed his black Mini after losing control of his vehicle on a roundabout, which veered into the opposite side of the road and collided with a green Mini, which had a young girl and couple inside.



Witnesses described McPartlin as being 'furious' when he got out of the car and he was seen shouting at his mother, Christine.



The incident has sparked a number of fans to call for him to be axed for this weekend's Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. The crash is the latest in what has been a troublesome year for the telly favourite, after he went to rehab for his painkiller addiction and the break-up of his marriage to Lisa Armstrong.





Amy Cassie, 23, who helped McPartlin's mother get out of the car, told the Daily Mirror: 'Ant seemed furious after crashing the car and was shouting at his mum who was also in the car. She was trying to get him to calm down.



'The couple in the green Mini were really shaken up and their child, who was a girl, could only have been about three years old.



'Ant and his mum didn't seem to have any injuries, but the mum in the green car had split her lip and the side of her face was very red.'





After the immdediate impact of the crash, McPartlin's Mini then spun around and hit a maroon BMW before eventually coming to a halt on the opposite side of the road.



His mother Christine was in the car at the time and the pair are thought to have been heading home after walking his dog, a chocolate Labrador called Hurley.



The collision comes after a tumultuous few months for the I'm A Celeb star, who booked himself into a rehab clinic last year after becoming hooked on painkillers and is now divorcing his wife Lisa Armstrong.



The divorce from his wife of 11 years is believed to be costing the star around £30m of his estimated £60m fortune.





Just hours before the collision, Ant had been hosting his ITV show 'Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway' with co-host Declan Donnelly.



A witness said Ant was 'argumentative' with a female police officer as she arrested him on suspicion of drink-driving.



Jake Spencer said Ant rowed with officers as they tried to put him in the police car following the incident.





Ant looked in a right state and was acting argumentatively towards a policewoman,' he told The Sun. 'I couldn't believe it when I saw who it was.



'The woman was trying to arrest him and get him in the police car but he clearly wasn't having it. '



Motorcyclist Nicholas McNicol told The Sun: 'I came on the scene moments after it happened and he was being escorted to the police car to be put in the back.



'Everyone was in a state of shock at who it was.



'I was driving past very slowly and Ant looked straight at me and I thought he looked tired. I was only about 3ft from him.



'His eyes looked very heavy and he had a solemn face — it looked like his world had just ended.



'He was the only one being put in a police car. One of the Minis had obviously come straight across the road because it was facing the wrong way.'



Other witnesses described hearing a 'huge bang' which they mistook for a train crash.



One said: 'As soon as I opened my front door I heard the horn of a car blaring non-stop and ran towards the sound.



'Near a bend in the road there were two badly damaged Minis which looked as though they'd collided and a BMW X5 — and people wandering around in shock.



'A family had been in the green Mini which had its front end completely smashed in.'



The witness added that a little girl was crying and that her mother was trying to calm her down.



They described Ant as looking 'awful' and 'unsteady on his feet' following the collision, which had left his Mini in a 'wreck'. 





Scotland Yard spokesman said: 'Police in Richmond were called to Lower Richmond Road, SW14 at 15:59hrs on Sunday, 18 March following reports of a road traffic collision involving three vehicles.



'Officers, London Ambulance Service and London Fire Brigade attended.



'A number of individuals were treated at the scene for minor injuries only. A child passenger from one of the cars has been taken to hospital for a check up as a precaution.'



A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman confirmed he has since been released 'under investigation'.