Ant given driving ban and fine after pleading guilty to drink-driving

THE BBC captured a three-car crash outside the magistrates court that was hearing the Ant McPartlin drink driving case.

At the time of the crash, Ant was more than double the drink drive limit, Wimbledon Magistrates' Court heard.

The judge said: "You were a man of good character. you have lost that good character".

In a statement, read by his lawyer, the TV presenter apologised for his actions and said he was "ashamed and mortified" by what he had done.

McPartlin's Mini collided with two other cars during the incident.

The charge states he had 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.

McPartlin, who lives in Chiswick, west London, was arrested at around 4pm on March 18th after a failing a roadside breathalyser test in Richmond, west London, following a collision between the Mini he was driving and two other cars.

The presenter has now been sentenced to a 20 month driving ban and will pay a fine of £86,000. He is now undergoing treatment for his alcohol issues.

He continued: "He is doing everything he can so this never happens again".

In a statement to police, McPartlin said: "I am very sorry I did this".

His defence barrister Liam Walker also said 42-year-old Ant had suffered a "brief relapse" - which his mum had no idea about - and he "hopes he can be forgiven by the many people he has let down".

"I accept full culpability for this and wish to apologise to all those concerned".

Ant has stepped away from all of his television roles since the accident in March, however, prerecorded episodes of Britain's Got Talent that Ant featured in will air as planned.