Cops slam ‘reckless’ England star Jack
England star blames his bizarre footwear for crashing into 2 cars
ENGLAND footballer Jack Grealish has been handed a nine-month driving ban and fined £82,000 – after blaming slippers for a crash.
The Aston Villa captain hit two parked cars as he moved his Range Rover to avoid being clamped in March, a court heard.
Grealish, 25, was flouting Government rules to stay indoors during lockdown.
Then in October police spotted him driving at around 98mph on the M42 and tailgating other motorists.
Police said after the case: “It’s shocking a role model has repeatedly behaved in an illegal and reckless manner.”
CCTV footage shows Grealish crash as he reversed at speed in March.
A witness claimed the star smelt of alcohol, slurred his words and was unsteady on his feet after the collisions.
The images show Grealish wearing mismatching slippers in the street.
His barrister, John Dye, blamed the collisions on the bizarre footwear.
Mr Dye told the court: “It was stupid for him to get into the vehicle with that footwear on. It was inappropriate p ate footwear oot for driving.
“What happened after that t was blind panic. He tried to make things s right but made them worse.
“The reason he was in his vehicle is he did not want it to be clamped.” mped.”
Grealish had been at a party arty the night before the early-morning g collisions colliull, in Dickens Heath, Solihull, in the West Midlands – roughly y 10
BANNED Grealish leaves court miles from his home in Barnt Green, Worcs. District judge John Bristow told Grealish the fact the footballer broke lockdown rules was an “aggravating factor”. He added: “You should have been at home. You should not have been driving.” Grealish admitted driving without due care and attention. He also admitted careless driving in relation to the speeding incident seven months later. His lawyer said the player was late for training at the time of the second offence. Grealish, who missed a previous hearing, sat with his head bowed at Birmingham magistrates court as footage of the offences was shown. Mr Dye said: “He acknowledges his driving was very poor. He is ashamed. “He has never been in court before and is a man of good character. His net weekly income is £55,000 a week.” Grealish was fined £82,499 in total and was ordered to pay within a week. Tanya Johnson, of West Mids Police’s prosecutions team, said: “These are appalling standards of driving which could have put lives at risk.
“He shouldn’t even have been in Solihull at the ti time of the collisions. “We were in lockdow lockdown – millions of people were sacrificing their thei freedom to stop the spread of coronavirus coronavirus.
“He had gone wh when officers arrived. He was charged but it clearly didn’t act as a warning as he was again caught speeding.” Midfield Midfielder Grealish already had six p points on his licence for spe speeding in 2018.