Katie Price, 43, is charged with driving while disqualified
‘I took drugs, I should not be driving’: Katie Price told police ‘I admit it all’ after 6.20am BMW crash before testing positive for cocaine following ‘dash to get more drugs’ – as she pleads GUILTY to drink driving and will go to The Priory
Price admits drink driving, driving whilst disqualified, driving without insurance Model flipped her BMW at 6.20am yesterday on rural road near her Sussex homeShe told police at the scene: ‘I took drugs, I should not be driving, I admit it all’Mother-of-five has no driving licence after disqualification for two years in 2019
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Katie Price will check into The Priory rehab clinic today after admitting drink driving while disqualified after crashing her BMW following an all-night alcohol and drugs bender – before telling police: ‘I took drugs, I should not be driving, I admit it all.’
The mother-of-five was said to have been up through the night drinking and taking cocaine before leaving her Sussex property at 5am yesterday to pick up some more.
The 43-year-old model pleaded guilty this afternoon at Crawley Magistrates’ Court to three charges of drink driving, driving whilst disqualified and driving without insurance – one day after family and friends rallied round her following her arrest.
Price, from Horsham, West Sussex, who is banned from driving, flipped her car on a country road at 6.20am yesterday near West Grinstead, which is close to her home.
After being rescued by a local resident, Price was arrested on suspicion of driving while above the legal limit for alcohol and drugs – and tested positive for cocaine.
The model told police: ‘I was just going to my friend’s house. I know I shouldn’t. I’ve been banned four times. I took drugs. I should not be driving. I admit it all.’
Price could still face jail when she is sentenced in December, but she is set to check into the Priory today. The model has no driving licence after being disqualified for two years in October 2019 – and has been banned from the roads six times in total.
The three charges were using a motor vehicle on a public place without third party insurance; driving while unfit to drive through drink; and driving while disqualified.
She was taken to hospital but is not thought to have been badly injured. A charge of drug-driving was dropped by prosecutors in light of her guilty drink-driving plea.
Price was told that her sentencing had been deferred for 11 weeks until December 15 to allow her to have treatment at The Priory and speak to the probation service.
Chair of the bench Julie Hutton told her she could leave but warned her against driving in the interim, saying: ‘You are free to go and good luck at the Priory.’
Price left the court with a blanket over her head alongside her father, Paul Price.
Katie Price, covered with a blanket, leaves Crawley Magistrates’ Court in West Sussex today
Katie Price, 46, attending the National Television Awards 2021 at The O2 on September 9
A drugs wipe gave a positive reading for cocaine, prosecutor Debbie Jones said. But Joe Harrington, defending, added: ‘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.’
Mr Harrington added that the driving was a ‘one-off’ incident. He said Price had been at home and feeling lonely and decided to go to see a friend.
The defence solicitor, who had asked magistrates to defer the sentencing for several weeks, said: ‘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.’
A photograph tweeted by a police officer showed a damaged BMW lying on its side across both lanes of a country road near West Grinstead yesterday, its front lodged in the hedgerow
Mr Harrington said: ‘There was never any premeditation that she would drive the car. She was drinking, she was lonely and decided to go and see a friend who lived the shortest distance away.’
While on the journey. she lost control of the car and over compensated her steering and the car rolled onto its side. She was rescued by a local man named Mr Marchant.
Mr Harrington said Price – who used to be known as Jordan – had not meant to break her driving ban and was not flouting the ban by routinely driving around.
The court heard Price already had an appointment booked with The Priory at 1.30pm today which she had to break as she was in custody.
The solicitor said: ‘She says that she had a meeting with the Priory at 1.30pm. We’ve been in contact with them and she will go from here to there. She is going for an assessment. There is no reason why she wouldn’t be admitted to The Priory today.’
Katie Price appears with her sister Sophie Price on ITV’s Good Morning Britain on Monday
Price appeared in the dock today wearing a pink jumper, and spoke to one of the officers next to her while the two magistrates rose to consider their decision.
Chair of the bench Ms Hutton then handed Price an interim driving ban, warning her: ‘We regularly send people to prison for driving whilst disqualified.’
Price was told that her sentence would be deferred on the condition that she have treatment at the Priory Centre and not commit any further offences.
She will also be banned from driving in the interim. Price was told she must also engage with the probation service so a report can be prepared.
It came despite Ms Jones telling the court: ‘I have been instructed to say the Crown are very concerned if she is allowed to walk out of court today.’
In April, Price mocked her driving ban in a YouTube video by sitting in the driving seat of car and pretending to drive – but noting that she was on her own land
It comes after a source told MailOnline yesterday: ‘Katie is on a downward spiral. After an all-night bender. It’s a new low, even by her standards.’
Another source told the Daily Mirror: ‘Katie is a total mess at the moment. Her partying is out of control and has really ramped up over the last few weeks.’
Her close friend Michelle Heaton, the former Liberty X singer, is said to have begged Price to get professional help and return to rehab.
Price spent five weeks at The Priory last October and vowed this year to take regular drugs tests if anyone challenged her sobriety.
Her fiancé Carl Woods said on Instagram that he will ‘always be there’ for the ‘rough diamond’
She previously said she had used cocaine in the past to ‘block things out’ because she ‘couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel’ due to her mental health issues.
Yesterday, a photograph tweeted by a local police officer showed a damaged BMW lying on its side across both lanes, its front lodged in the hedgerow, after the crash.
A local said: ‘Luckily no other vehicles were involved in the crash and it happened away from houses. It sounds like the person behind the wheel is going to be OK.’
Price has experienced a turbulent year, and was recently seen with bruising to her face after an alleged assault at her home in Essex.
A source said: ‘Katie rolled her car and was in a bad way when police arrived. She’s in hospital now and everyone is desperately worried about her.’
Driving while disqualified can result in a maximum sentence of 26 weeks in prison. It comes as Price’s family last night expressed fears for her mental health.
They said in a statement: ‘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.’
ITV presenter Lorraine Kelly said on her show this morning: ‘She was lucky, shouldn’t have been behind the wheel. She could have killed herself or someone else.
Price told Good Morning Britain of her pain that being disqualified from driving meant she could not visit her disabled son Harvey (pictured on September 9) at his residential college
‘I really hope that she does get the help that she clearly, clearly needs. Maybe this is a wake-up call, but what a horrible one.’
The smash came a day after Price said being disqualified from driving meant she could not visit her disabled son Harvey at his residential college in Gloucestershire.
She told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: ‘Harvey’s in Cheltenham now, he keeps ringing me saying, ‘Mummy I miss you, I need your 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.’
Her fiancé Carl Woods said he will ‘always be there’ for the ‘rough diamond’, writing on Instagram yesterday: ‘Relationships are tested, people test each other.
‘But when you love someone like I love Katie, you enjoy the highs and good times together. And that bond is tested during the low and difficult times together.
‘Katie is a rough diamond. She has her imperfections however they make her perfect to me. She just needs that extra help to be polished.
‘The sunlight will shine through her once again and the sparkles that she brings to everyone will return. I love you Katie 100%. My dolly, always here, always will be.’
Price was said to have been driving in a car that was given to her as a gift by Mr Woods several weeks before the crash, according to the Sun.
A Sussex Police spokesman said: ‘Police responded to reports of a single-vehicle collision on the B2135 near Partridge Green around 6.20am on Tuesday.’
Police officers stand outside Crawley Magistrates’ Court today where Katie Price appeared
They later added today: ‘Katie Price, 43, was charged with using a motor vehicle on a public place without third party insurance and driving whilst disqualified.
‘She was remanded in custody and will appear at Crawley Remand Court on Wednesday (September 29).’
A South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesman said it was ‘called at approximately 6.30am to reports of an RTC on the B2135 at Partridge Green’.
They added: ‘One ambulance crew attended the scene and one person was assessed and treated before being taken to hospital.’
The road was closed after the crash but police confirmed it reopened at 9.26am. A representative for Price declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline today.
