KATIE PRICE HAS been warned she faces prison after she pleaded guilty to drink-driving while disqualified and without insurance following a crash near her home in Sussex, England.
The former glamour model, 43, will get treatment at the Priory Centre after telling police “I took drugs, I should not be driving, I admit it all” following a collision on the B2135 near Partridge Green yesterday morning.
Price appeared at Crawley Magistrates’ Court today, where chair of the bench Julie Hutton deferred sentencing until 15 December on the condition that she have treatment at the facility, not commit any further offences, and be banned from driving in the interim.
The chair warned her: “We regularly send people to prison for driving whilst disqualified.”
Price pleaded guilty after she was charged with driving while unfit to drive through drink, using a motor vehicle on a public place without third party insurance and driving while disqualified.
After being confronted by police at the scene of the collision, Price was heard saying “I took drugs, I should not be driving, I admit it all”, the court was told.
A drugs wipe gave a positive reading for cocaine, prosecutor Debbie Jones said.
The court heard that a roadside breath test taken by Price following the accident was positive for alcohol.
An image shared by police from the scene today showed a car flipped on its side.
Officers responded to the crash at around 6.20am, where Price was arrested on suspicion of driving while above the legal limit for alcohol and drugs, and was taken to hospital.
Defence solicitor Joe Harrington said: “She has had a lot of personal problems recently.
“Currently she is in the process of bankruptcy proceedings so her house may be repossessed.
“So quite a lot going on in this lady’s life, a really difficult period,” he added.
Harrington argued that the driving was a “one-off” incident.
He added: “As I understand it she had been drinking, she was lonely and she decided to go and see a friend who lived a relatively short distance away and that is when the incident happened.”
Following the hearing, Price was ushered out of the back of Crawley Magistrates’ Court while police officers stood by.
She wore a blanket over her face as she got into a blue Fiat car and was driven away.
After the crash but before the court appearance, Price’s family had expressed concern for her wellbeing.
In a statement from the family shared on Price’s Instagram account, they said: “As a family we have for some time been concerned about Kate’s wellbeing and overall mental health.
“Today our worst fears nearly came true. As a family we have been and will continue to help Kate get the help she needs.
“We hope that she will realise that she cannot battle her issues alone.”
The family asked the media and public to give Price space to “seek the necessary treatment”.
The statement added: “We are concerned and worried about her deeply, we know she lives her life publicly and to many she is fair game, but as a family we hope she can find her path privately moving forward during this very difficult period in her life.
“We are not asking for sympathy – just that it is recognised that Kate is unwell.
“We take great comfort in reading the messages of support and love for Kate that we will pass on to her, in the hope that these positive messages will help spur her on.”
In an appearance on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday, Price had discussed how she is banned from driving until the end of the year.
Referring to her disabled son Harvey, 19, she said: “Harvey’s in Cheltenham now.
“He keeps ringing me saying, ‘Mummy I miss you, I need kisses and cuddles’, so it is quite hard because obviously I don’t get my licence back until December, so I can’t just whizz in the car down there and it’s not close.”
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