Ant McPartlin pleads guilty to drink driving after crash in London

Ant McPartlin pleads guilty to drink driving after crash in London



Ant McPartlin says he is 'ashamed and mortified' after he pleaded guilty to drink driving following a crash which left a four-year-old girl in hospital.



The 42-year-old admitted he was more than twice the legal limit when his black Mini ploughed into two other cars in Richmond, west London last month.



The court heard that a nine-year-old boy who was in one of the cars screamed out: 'I'm dying mummy, I'm dying' after the smash. The boy's mother told police she was 'horrified someone could have driven so dangerously'.



The I'm a Celebrity host - who earns a £130,000-a-week - pleaded guilty to a single charge of drink-driving and was fined £86,000.



It is thought to



He was banned from the road for one year and eight months - but could be back behind the wheel in 15 months if he takes a drink drivers awareness course.



Ant's lawyer Liam Walker said:'Anthony McPartlin is sorry and is doing everything he can to ensure this never happens again.



'He hopes that in time he can make himself better and that he might be forgiven by all of the many people he knows and he feels he has let down terribly.' 



The court heard Ant's mother, Christine Woodhall, was in the car with him at the time.



He had been seeking help for 'alcohol and emotional issues' at the time, his lawyer said, but was in the midst of 'a brief relapse', which his mother did not know about.



In a statement read by his barrister, he said: 'I appreciate people in the public eye should provide a positive example. I know the consequences [of the crash] could have been much worse





Mr Walker also spoke of McPartlin's 'exemplary' character and charitable work, especially focusing on organisations that help children. He added: 'Mr McPartlin is lucky to have both family and long-time friends to support him.' 



McPartlin was driving around a 'sharp bend and lost control' at which point he ended up on the wrong side of the road, the court heard. He collided with another Mini Cooper before driving 'straight into the front' of an oncoming BMW.



The driver of a BMW hit said McPartlin's car came round the corner 'like a rocket'.



Faheem Vanoo, the driver of the Mini, said afterwards that he and his family thought they would die in the collision.



He said, in a statement read by prosecutor Ms Sinnett-Jones: 'Myself and my family were in deep shock as we believed we could have died as as a result of Mr McPartlin's reckless driving.'





McPartlin's vehicle 'came to a halt and was no longer driveable due to the damage caused' she said. Members of the public called the police.



In a statement to police, McPartlin had said: 'I am very sorry I did this.I am ashamed and mortified that this happened. I accept full culpability for this and wish to apologise to all those concerned.'



Seven police officers had shielded the star from photographers and television cameras when he arrived at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court this lunchtime.



He stepped out of a black Mercedes people carrier and walked up the steps at the main entrance to the court building in south-west London.



The charge states he had 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35 microgrammes per 100 millilitres of breath. 



McPartlin has pulled out of all work commitments since the crash and his presenting partner Declan Donnelly is hosting Britain's Got Talent shows alone.



Friends had previously said he wanted to plead guilty at the first opportunity so that he could put the legal proceedings behind him and move on with his rehab.



The TV star was charged following a car crash in Richmond which left a four-year-old girl in hospital on March 18. 



Restaurant owner Faheem Vanoo and his wife Shilpa Dandekar were travelling with their daughter Amaira when their green Mini was involved in a head-on collision with another Mini driven by the presenter.



Amaira was taken to West Middlesex Hospital in Isleworth by her parents for a check up and was not kept in overnight for any treatment





Mr Vanoo said after the crash: 'His Mini came flying around a sharp corner on the wrong side of the road trying to overtake a blue car. I hardly had time to react and turned in towards the kerb to avoid a head-on collision.



'I'm convinced that split-second turn of the wheel saved us all from being crippled or killed. I reckon he was doing 50 or 60mph.'



He added: 'The horn of his car was blaring and my little girl was crying in shock. It was a terrible, chaotic scene.'



'The whole experience has just been a nightmare,' Faheem told MailOnline shortly after the crash.



'It is not something that we ever expected, but we are just grateful that no one was hurt.



'It has been a terrible experience and it feels like we are coming out of a nightmare. It has left us all a bit shaken up.'