A drink-driver who crashed into the gates of the prime minister’s Chequers estate has been jailed.
Matthew Wootten, 44, deliberately steered into the 80-year-old oak Victory Gate making no effort to slow down and avoid the crash, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
CCTV footage shows the white car veering around a bend before smashing straight through the gates of the Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire residence, destroying the wooden panels and causing £38,000 worth of damage.
The car crumpled as it drove straight into the bollards behind the gate, seemingly in place to prevent this type of situation. The incident took place on 25 June this year, while Rishi Sunak was prime minister.
Wootten was found to be nearly three times over the drinking and driving limit and several cans of alcohol were discovered in his car, prosecutors said.
The driver seriously injured himself in the crash. He had a blood alcohol reading of 221 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood, while the legal limit is 80 milligrams, the CPS added.
Wootten pleaded guilty at Reading Crown Court to dangerous driving, damaging property while reckless as to whether life is endangered, and driving a motor vehicle while above the alcohol limit.
He was sentenced to 32 months behind bars and disqualified from driving for 40 months.
Celia Mardon, senior crown prosecutor with the 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.”
