CCTV shows drink driver ploughing into Chequers estate gates

Shocking footage has shown the moment a drink driver ploughed through the gates of the PM's Chequers estate. 

Matthew Wootten of Great Kimble was jailed for 32 months on Wednesday after the incident on June 25 when he caused more than £38,000 of damage. 

CCTV footage shows the vehicle racing towards the gate before crashing through the wooden structure, sending debris flying into the air. 

The vehicle, a Volkswagen Scirocco, was only stopped by a bollard behind the entrance which crushed the front of the car. 

Matthew Wootton (Image: Thames Valley Police)

In total, there was £32,641 worth of damage to the 80-year-old Victory Gate while repairs to the bollards cost £6,000. 

Wootten, 44, was seriously injured but was later found to be almost three times the drink-drive limit. 

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, damaging property being reckless as to whether life is endangered and drink driving. 

The motorist appeared at Reading Crown Court for sentencing where he was also banned from driving for 40 months. 

The court heard how Wootten had been driving along Missenden Road, Aylesbury before deliberately steering towards the entrance to the estate. 

The aftermath of a crash at the Chequers estate (Image: Ian Longthorne)

Several cans of alcohol were found in the car.

After the incident, he was found to have a blood alcohol reading of 221mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg. 

Freelance photographer, Ian Longthorne, was on a walk in the area and had been at a nearby pub when the incident happened.

He previously said: "We then saw a car ambulance, a fire engine and an unmarked police car fly by us.

"At first, we didn't think anything of it so we went to a nearby farm shop for lunch we went through the grounds of Chequers.

"There's a public path that can take you there and there's where I saw a car had crashed into the entrance bollards.

"When we returned a little while later, more police cars were there."

The aftermath of a crash at the Chequers estate (Image: Ian Longthorne)

The Prime Minister at the time, Rishi Sunak, was not at Chequers during the incident.

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.”