Drink driver who crashed into Chequers gate is jailed

A drink driver who crashed into the gates of the Prime Minister’s Chequers estate has been jailed, prosecutors have said.

Matthew Wootten, 44, made no attempt to slow down as he deliberately steered towards the 80-year-old oak Victory Gate instead of following the bend in the road, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) reported.

CCTV footage shows the white car smashing through it at speed, crumpling the bonnet as wood panels fly into the driveway.

Several cans of alcohol were found in Wootten’s car and he was almost three times over the drinking and driving limit, according to prosecutors.

Rishi Sunak was prime minister at the time of the incident in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, on June 25 this year, shortly before the general election.

The CPS said Wootten seriously injured himself and caused more than £38,000 worth of damage.

He had a blood alcohol reading of 221mg of alcohol per 100mg of blood when the legal limit is 80mg, it added.

Wootten pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, damaging property while reckless as to whether life is endangered, and driving a motor vehicle when above the alcohol limit, according to prosecutors.

On Wednesday at Reading Crown Court he was sentenced to 32 months’ imprisonment and disqualified from driving for 40 months, the CPS said.

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.”