This is the moment a drunk driver smashed his car through the gates guarding Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country residence.
Matthew Wootten, 44, was at the wheel of a car which he deliberately drove into the entrance of the country retreat off Missenden Road, Aylesbury.
The incident happened on June 25 this year, when Rishi Sunak was still Prime Minister and shortly before the General Election.
Wootten, who was almost three times the drink drive limit, caused himself serious injury in the crash and inflicted more than £38,000 worth of damage on the 80-year-old gates.
Several cans of alcohol were recovered from the car when armed police descended on the wrecked vehicle, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
Tests later revealed he had 221 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood in his system.
At Reading Crown Court, Wootten pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, damaging property being reckless as to whether life is endangered, and driving a motor vehicle when alcohol level above limit.
On Wednesday, Wootten, of Great Kimble, was jailed for 32 months and banned from driving for the next 40 months.
Celia Mardon, a Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Thames and Chiltern, said: “CCTV footage showed that Wootten intentionally drove at speed towards the gates of the Chequers estate.
“The strength of this evidence, along with a significantly high alcohol blood reading, gave him little choice but to admit his guilt to the charges we authorised against him.
“Not only did Wootten cause significant damage to the Victory Gate, but he could also have put the lives of others at risk with his reckless driving.”
