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Drink-drive Chloe Madeley banned after crash
Updated 13:27pm on 2 Sep 2009
TV personality Chloe Madeley was disqualified from driving for 20 months today after pleading guilty to drink-driving.
The 22-year-old was arrested after a crash in Barnet in the early hours of August 16 after her car clipped another vehicle and overturned.
Banned: Chloe Madeley pleaded guilty to drink-driving
Hendon Magistrates' Court heard that she had drunk two cocktails earlier in the evening and was almost twice the legal limit when the crash happened.
Ms Madeley had returned home after socialising with friends but left the house in her car because she "urgently required the services of a 24-hour chemist in relation to female products", the court heard.
Sentencing Madeley to her driving ban, chair of the bench Clive Lewisohn said: "It's a serious incident of drink driving. You exposed the public, including yourself, to considerable danger. There was an accident. Thankfully nobody was injured.
"We find that there is no mitigation whatsoever for your driving with excess alcohol on this occasion."
He ordered Madeley, the daughter of television presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan, to pay a total of £435, including £70 prosecution costs and £15 towards victims of crime, and told her the ban would start immediately.
Madeley, of Wildwood Road near Hampstead Heath in north London, who was wearing a tight-fitting below-the-knee black dress, with her hair tied back, thanked the court.
But she refused to comment after the hearing and left in the same way she arrived - in a taxi.
Prosecutor Priya Valentine told the court earlier Madeley had been driving her black Peugeot 206 when she collided with a stationary vehicle "causing a substantial amount of damage".
She said: "Miss Madeley's vehicle overturned and it landed on its roof and the airbag deployed."
When police arrived at the scene in Meadway Close, Barnet, the car had been abandoned but checks revealed Madeley as the owner and led officers to the family home where she lives.
Miss Valentine said: "She confirmed she had been the driver of the vehicle and stated to officers that she drove to the shops and on her way back clipped a tyre.
"The car rolled and she couldn't remember how she got out."
Madeley told police she was "dazed and shocked".
She was taken to a north London police station where she took a breathalyser test which measured 61 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms.
Alex Radley, defending, said his client had been drinking with friends in Camden earlier in the evening when she had consumed two cocktails.
She returned home to watch television and did not drink any further.
He continued: "In the early hours of the morning she urgently required the services of a 24 hour chemist in relation to female products, believing at this time she wouldn't be over the limit.
"Just before the incident she realised that the car was parked at an unusual angle, pointed out onto the road, and the tyres were twisted. Unfortunately it was at late notice that she spotted this and too late to take any avoiding action."
He said she chose to walk home because it was close by and was about to call the police when they arrived at her doorstep.
He said: "She assisted the police fully. She feels dreadfully upset about what has happened, apologised to the police at the time and dealt with the accident appropriately."
Madeley, who describes herself as a self-employed journalist, was told that if she takes a drink-drive rehabilitation course the ban will be reduced by one quarter.
Reader views (16)
Well I know this is well after the event but I was just trying to find out what celeb job she does after watching dancing on ice and stumbled on this.
Would just like to say never heard of her before. she has become an excellent ice skater in her own right
Drinking and driving a big No! no! And she certainly got off light to say the least. Like spider correctly pointed out why on earth was she not prosecuted for the very serious offence of "LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT" more commonly known as doing a runner, FAILING TO REPORT AN ACCIDENT those two law breakers in their own right would for the rest of us been a custodial sentence and the book thrown well and truly at us.
SHAME ON YOU YOUR HONOUR, I personally don't believe in selective justice!!!!!! What sort of message does this give out. Your actions have made you as, if not, more guilty then she is. I bet I can guess what the rest of the world would sentence you to!!! WHAT A TOTAL DISGRACE
- Siberian Huskys, Gloucestershire uk, 28/03/2011 04:09
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She got off very lightly. She should be accountable for her actions in the same way others are. She should do prison time as others are for less. Obviously too much too soon.
- Ann, Norfolk, 03/09/2009 08:24
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. .never heard of her.
Have heard of her parents though, don't they have a show that attracts zero vieiwers on some cable channel ?
- Nicholas, Zürich, Switzerland, 03/09/2009 07:22
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She don't half look like her Mum. Let's hope she don't in 30 year time.
- Dan Dan, Sydney, 03/09/2009 07:16
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of course 61 miligrams is well under the legal limit in many countries.
whatever the cause, it wasn't the booze.
- Scotty, London, 02/09/2009 19:44
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Disgusting. so much for punishment.When public figures break the law, like all criminals they should have the book thrown at them.Still got her and the family some press coverage,even if bad ,but she follows after Daddy i suppose. British justice ,what an insult to every law abiding citizen.
- Allan Clarke, Brasil, 02/09/2009 19:14
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Never heard of her and wouldn't know her if I saw her in the street.
Not even a has-been - more a never-been.
2 cocktails and blew 61 - they were some cocktails!
- David Ross, London, 02/09/2009 18:58
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Thats a worse story than when I walked out of supermarket with alcohol & FORGOT to pay
- Richard, Uk, 02/09/2009 17:18
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Apart from being the daughter of a couple of tv has beens, who exactly is this 'tv personality'?
- Goggs, London, 02/09/2009 17:10
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Who on earth is she???"Personality"is hard to justify.
- P Doff, audierne france, 02/09/2009 16:06
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This is the first time I have NOT heard Richard and Judy's opinion of scandalous behaviour like this. Come on you two, tell this irresponsible brat of yours a few home truths or at least write about her in your weekly rag column.
- Mj, East Anglia, 02/09/2009 16:04
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I am sure this young woman will learn so much from this incident. Sadly her case is only being highlighted because she is the daughter of Richard and Judy. Give her space to deal with what has happened and let her put it behind her and, of course, learn from it. I wish her all the best.
- Kahala, Essex, UK, 02/09/2009 15:19
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Why wasnt she charged with causing an accident AND leaving the scene of an accident AND failing to report the accident to police. Perhaps the poilce might like to explain as I can find no reason why she wasnt except that mummy and daddy might not have like it.
- Spider, essex uk, 02/09/2009 14:55
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"TV personality"......................is she?
- Carol, London, 02/09/2009 14:24
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Nice dress!
- Anthony, Esher, Surrey, 02/09/2009 13:52
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She's obviously not famous enough or can't afford a decent enough lawyer, a footballer would have got away with a lot less than that.
- Bob, Cheam, 02/09/2009 13:49
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