Ant and Wreck

MatBin said:
He's a human being and an alcoholic so he deserves sympathy, none of us know how close we are to becoming the same.
It's a mental illness and being rich is no shield against mental illness, indeed it may make the whole thing even more likely.
I believe his problem was brought about by an operation that has left him in constant pain and he turned to drugs as a first resort and now to alcohol.
It is very difficult to deal with an alcoholic/drug users, they will tell you all sorts of lies etc and is immensely difficult for the family to deal with.

I feel deeply sorry for him, he's nowhere near rock bottom (yet) as he still has his money but that could all vanish and one has to ask if it has brought him happiness, it would appear not. I hope he gets the help he needs to recognise his problem, his money should help get him the best care possible, then again it maybe not if he doesnt want it.
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Yes absolutely agree with you and do agree he needs sympathy and help but people are understandably angry that he drove while drunk there's never an excuse for that
 
People who drive drunk deserve to have the full weight of the law to come down on them, whether they are alcoholic or not. We can be understanding of their alcoholic condition but still hold them responsible for their actions while under the influence.
 
Some of the comments here are..... ummm, interesting and show a lack of understanding about alcoholism. If you’ve ever had anything to do with someone who’s an alcoholic ( I have unfortunately) you would know that half the problem is they don’t realise or won’t admit they have a problem in the first place. Secondly it doesn’t always take a large amount of alcohol to get an alcoholic drunk enough to not be able to function properly. Someone I knew (dead now, through screwing up his liver with drink) only needed to drink three pints to be completely legless. A pint or two would be enough to make him a danger behind the wheel. You just can’t generalise about these things.

I’m not making excuses for Ant, but he obviously does have a problem and needs help. Being pilloried by the press won’t achieve anything, except sell more papers.
 
An aquatintence of mine is, I believe an alcoholic.
I was at a friends party, I was driving so didn’t drink, this guy, I saw had at least 10 cans of Stella, some vicious pint of cocktail my mate made up with vodka, gin and something else and a glass of champagne in the space of about 2 hours.

If I’d have and that, I’d have been flat out on the floor, this guy, you couldn’t tell any difference from him being sober.

I can’t believe Ant was blind drunk, his mother was in the car, he may have been over the limit, but I don’t believe his mother would let him drive her about if he was obviously drunk.
 
Drinking and driving is not acceptable, clearly.
But let's not forget that alcohol is not this man's only addiction.
Opioid painkillers.
Mix those and you're a disaster waiting to happen.
Do I think he should be sacked? No.
Do I think he should lose his licence for a very long time and do some community service in a facility which cares for those dealing with the aftermath of drunken driving incidents? Absolutely.
He's an idiot, something I'm sure he's more than well aware of now.
 
TCR4x4 said:
An aquatintence of mine is, I believe an alcoholic.
I was at a friends party, I was driving so didn’t drink, this guy, I saw had at least 10 cans of Stella, some vicious pint of cocktail my mate made up with vodka, gin and something else and a glass of champagne in the space of about 2 hours.

If I’d have and that, I’d have been flat out on the floor, this guy, you couldn’t tell any difference from him being sober.

I can’t believe Ant was blind drunk, his mother was in the car, he may have been over the limit, but I don’t believe his mother would let him drive her about if he was obviously drunk.
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Ah...functioning alcoholics. Even more dangerous than your run-of-the-mill alcoholic.

And don't discount the possibility that his mum was drunk too.
 
boogie man said:
Some of the comments here are..... ummm, interesting and show a lack of understanding about alcoholism. If you’ve ever had anything to do with someone who’s an alcoholic ( I have unfortunately) you would know that half the problem is they don’t realise or won’t admit they have a problem in the first place. Secondly it doesn’t always take a large amount of alcohol to get an alcoholic drunk enough to not be able to function properly. Someone I knew (dead now, through screwing up his liver with drink) only needed to drink three pints to be completely legless. A pint or two would be enough to make him a danger behind the wheel. You just can’t generalise about these things.

I’m not making excuses for Ant, but he obviously does have a problem and needs help. Being pilloried by the press won’t achieve anything, except sell more papers.
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I agree with you, when I went through Turning Point many years ago I had hit my rock bottom after ruining my life, my parents and a families life. Both are horrible illnesses to have and through know fault of mine either. I hope he does get all the help he needs before his rock bottom was like mine.
 
If he is an alcoholic he won't stop until HE wants to
All that money he has got won't get him sober or the fact he is famous
He only has to stop for one day at a time and not pick up the first drink
I hope he reaches rock bottom sooner rather than later and askes for help
 
snooks said:
If he is an alcoholic he won't stop until HE wants to
All that money he has got won't get him sober or the fact he is famous
He only has to stop for one day at a time and not pick up the first drink
I hope he reaches rock bottom sooner rather than later and askes for help
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Some do want to stop (and are fully aware their life is being irretrievably wrecked), but still cannot break the habit. They are utterly and completely enslaved to the consumption of alcohol.
I recall George Best lying in his bed a few days before he died pleading with people to help their alcoholic friends and relatives before they ended up like him. Almost to the end he still said that he could not imagine facing another day without a drink.
It is a hell of a thing.
 
Mr Bump said:
my local pub the flower pot is full of builders van at the end of the day when I walk past from my train.
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Do the vans show the company names on their side? I'd tweet the company with a photo of the van at the pub and ask the CEO if he would like to be associated with the driver if he or she had been involved in a fatal RTA, even if under the limit? If the CEO cared about the reputation of his company he'd put a stop to that...

As for Ant, just like Jamie Carragher, the images will linger and taint their reputations for eternity. One wrong decision has been costly for both.
 
arclight said:
Some do want to stop (and are fully aware their life is being irretrievably wrecked), but still cannot break the habit. They are utterly and completely enslaved to the consumption of alcohol.
I recall George Best lying in his bed a few days before he died pleading with people to help their alcoholic friends and relatives before they ended up like him. Almost to the end he still said that he could not imagine facing another day without a drink.
It is a hell of a thing.
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Similar to the guy I referred to in my earlier post. He developed liver problems and was told if he didn’t stop drinking then he’d be dead within a year. He dried out and was clean and sober for two full years. Eventually his consultant said he’d done well enough to be put in the liver transplant list. He celebrated.... by going down the pub. He was dead within a month, his liver just couldn’t cope. Alcohol is a terrible thing for some people, like you say it completely dominates and controls their life.
 
Alchoholism is a self inflicted illness,
If he had been lighting a cigarette and lost control of the car, would you all be defending him ?
I doubt it and yet that is also an an addiction that can kill and drains NHS resources, yet everytime
the subject of smoking comes up people are anti it, what's the difference both are self inflicted addictions
I'd love to know how much drinking cost the NHS and how many innocent people are injured/maimed due
to drunken behaviour, either their own or other peoples.
Drinking is seen as socially acceptable so there will never be any restrictions on as there have been on smoking in public etc.
If the child in the car had died would everyone feel the same ?

For the record I am a non smoker
 
So how do you propose we prevent such behaviour?
do we stop the manufacture of alcohol, cigarettes?
close the rest of the pubs that survived the persecution of the smoker!
why not ban soft drinks and food they are responsible for car accidents too.
the cost of obesity to the NHS is horrendous it is one of the main causes for cancers that destroys lives too.
how many billions are spent on cancer treatment yet people willingly live a lifestyle that promotes it!
if mental health had just a fraction of the support and funding of cancer treatment the world would be a happier place.
 
This article in the Standard is a bit strange, because it describes the crash thus - "Restaurant owner Faheem Vanoo was driving his green Mini with wife Shilpa Dandekar and their four-year-old daughter Amaira when they collided with the TV star’s Mini in Richmond on Sunday."
They didn't collide with it, they were hit by a guy who - "reportedly lost control around a bend, causing his car to veer into oncoming traffic before hitting Mr Vanoo’s Mini and another car behind."

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/...k-out-about-terrible-experience-a3793996.html

I have zero sympathy for this piece of scum, and I reckon most people would have zero sympathy if it involved their family and it had not been a "celebrity".
He deserves a long jail term and a lifetime ban from driving.
 
Mr Bump said:
All drink drivers are k*****rs, he is just a celeb k*****r.
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while I agree with you 100%, TBF to him whats being widely reported is that he failed a roadside breath test. Thats unforgivable. Its not been widely reported anywhere that he then passed the more reliable test they give you at the police station. As such he's not been charged with drink driving

andy700 said:
He deserves a long jail term and a lifetime ban from driving.
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As above. If he had been charged why would he be treated any more harshly then anyone else?
 
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They had to have a rapid change at the Royal TV awards last night apparently, up for two awards and a shoe in, the prize went to next best, Love Island for best entertainment and last leg for best performance.
Neither Ant nor Dec attended. Not quite sure where Dec goes with this now, their whole career was built as a pair of presenters.

Then there's the Suzuki car adverts - not sure they'll continue with those.
 
AHILL said:
So how do you propose we prevent such behaviour?
do we stop the manufacture of alcohol, cigarettes?
close the rest of the pubs that survived the persecution of the smoker!
why not ban soft drinks and food they are responsible for car accidents too.
the cost of obesity to the NHS is horrendous it is one of the main causes for cancers that destroys lives too.
how many billions are spent on cancer treatment yet people willingly live a lifestyle that promotes it!
if mental health had just a fraction of the support and funding of cancer treatment the world would be a happier place.
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Yes, that makes sense. Diseases are not truly self inflicted. It is the behaviour that leads to disease that is self inflicted (and not done with the aim of causing health damage). Whether a drinker / smoker / poor diet type / couch potato etc....... (the list is large) ends up with a disease is actually a bit of a lottery and not entirely down to poor judgement.
It must be wonderful to be so perfect a human specimen to be able to stand above all others and offer criticsm of their lifestyles.
Let he who is without sin cast the first stone (not sure who first said that, but it seems sound advice).
 
boyfalldown said:
while I agree with you 100%, TBF to him whats being widely reported is that he failed a roadside breath test. Thats unforgivable. Its not been widely reported anywhere that he then passed the more reliable test they give you at the police station. As such he's not been charged with drink driving



As above. If he had been charged why would he be treated any more harshly then anyone else?
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He looks totally out of it here - drunk, not dazed, and that is a 30MPH limit, where he hits another car nearly head on after attempting to overtake someone on a road that narrow. What speed was he doing? A three year old girl was injured in the crash.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...earched-Ant-McPartlin-smashed-Mini-DRUGS.html
 
AHILL said:
So how do you propose we prevent such behaviour?
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We can't, but it's about time people took responsibility for their own life decisions
You choose to drink and drive, why expect sympathy ?
We all know it's against the law, and that is the point here isn't it.

It seems that alcohol is a totally different problem to all others and totally acceptable, well for me it isn't
 
andy700 said:
He looks totally out of it here - drunk, not dazed, and that is a 30MPH limit, where he hits another car nearly head on after attempting to overtake someone on a road that narrow. What speed was he doing? A three year old girl was injured in the crash.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...earched-Ant-McPartlin-smashed-Mini-DRUGS.html
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The three year old wasn't injured but was taken to hospital for checks to be safe due to the force of the collision. I think the wail are playing a little loose with that part of the reporting
 
andy700 said:
He looks totally out of it here - drunk, not dazed, and that is a 30MPH limit, where he hits another car nearly head on after attempting to overtake someone on a road that narrow. What speed was he doing? A three year old girl was injured in the crash.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...earched-Ant-McPartlin-smashed-Mini-DRUGS.html
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No idea & ive no wish to speculate on a photo . I just told you he passed the more comprehensive test at a police station and your response is he looks wrecked in the Mail. Really?
 
boyfalldown said:
No idea & ive no wish to speculate on a photo . I just told you he passed the more comprehensive test at a police station and your response is he looks wrecked in the Mail. Really?
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So if you fail a roadside one but pass the police station one I assume you are not charged and are therefore innocent? Appreciate there is a moral argument here about drinking nothing or something below the limit, and the fact that your level could drop between the 2 readings in which case you were over the limit at that moment but cannot be charged, so in the eyes of the law, innocent.
 
cambsno said:
So if you fail a roadside one but pass the police station one I assume you are not charged and are therefore innocent? Appreciate there is a moral argument here about drinking nothing or something below the limit, and the fact that your level could drop between the 2 readings in which case you were over the limit at that moment but cannot be charged, so in the eyes of the law, innocent.
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Yes, basically the roadside ones are not accurate enough to be used in court, so if you fail a roadside test you’ll be arrested and given the more accurate test. Pass that one and you are, inthe eyes of the law, innocent.

Personally, I don’t think any level of alcohol and then driving is ok, but others may vary on that
 
boyfalldown said:
Yes, basically the roadside ones are not accurate enough to be used in court, so if you fail a roadside test you’ll be arrested and given the more accurate test. Pass that one and you are, inthe eyes of the law, innocent.
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Well, the law is the law I guess... we can take moral judgements on people, but I guess if you look at the facts he has done nothing wrong!

boyfalldown said:
Personally, I don’t think any level of alcohol and then driving is ok, but others may vary on that
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Personally I don't have an issue with current laws. Chances are that lack of sleep or taking prescription (or even over the counter drugs) could make you more dangerous than a pint.

Anyway, if you were ever in a car with my sober mother in law, you would quickly swap to a competent driver who has had 5 pints!! :p​
 
boyfalldown said:
I just told you he passed the more comprehensive test at a police station
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Looks like wherever that info came from was either just making it up or pulling your leg.

TV presenter Ant McPartlin has been charged with drink driving, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed.

It follows his arrest after a collision on Sunday involving three vehicles in south-west London, where minor injuries were recorded.

Mr McPartlin attended Kingston police station on Wednesday, where he was interviewed under caution.

The presenter will appear at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court on 4 April.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43492842
 
Marc said:
Looks like he's now been charged with drink driving
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Which is strange that it took so long, he wasn't released until the early hours of sunday, so why not charged then? Was he close to the limit and they had to wait for the blood test?
 
Byker28i said:
Which is strange that it took so long, he wasn't released until the early hours of sunday, so why not charged then? Was he close to the limit and they had to wait for the blood test?
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I would doubt there has been enough time for an evidentiary blood test to be processed, more likely he was simply allowed to sober up in a cell and then bailed to return today for the interview for some other reason.
 
I find the thread title (lifted from gutter press) rather distasteful here too.
Reads like Dec is the offender.
 
Evidentiary blood tests can be back in a VERY short time in these cases.
It's not like anything has to be cultured.
 
viv1969 said:
I find the thread title (lifted from gutter press) rather distasteful here too.
Reads like Dec is the offender.
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He wrecked his mini (which he was driving after damaging his X5 by reversing it into a tree) at which point it's quite an accurate title. It wasn't lifted from the gutter press - my own invention
 
viv1969 said:
Evidentiary blood tests can be back in a VERY short time in these cases.
It's not like anything has to be cultured.
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The breathalyser machine in the station is quite capable of providing evidential evidence and is what is usually used. Which is why I'm wondering if it was within a tolerence of being close to the limit that they went fo ran additional blood test or if the accused demanded one - I believe it's a persons right
 
viv1969 said:
Evidentiary blood tests can be back in a VERY short time in these cases.
It's not like anything has to be cultured.
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Just asked a serving police officer, average turn around for processing a blood sample for drink driving is currently around 6 weeks.
 
Byker28i said:
He wrecked his mini (which he was driving after damaging his X5 by reversing it into a tree) at which point it's quite an accurate title. It wasn't lifted from the gutter press - my own invention
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Ant wrecked his car.
Dec did nothing.
 
Dave1 said:
Just asked a serving police officer, average turn around for processing a blood sample for drink driving is currently around 6 weeks.
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My brother, a police forensic officer, gives a turnaround of less than 12 hours on request.
 
Dave1 said:
Just asked a serving police officer, average turn around for processing a blood sample for drink driving is currently around 6 weeks.
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viv1969 said:
My brother, a police forensic officer, gives a turnaround of less than 12 hours on request.
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My friend is a police officer and strips her clothes off for........... oops, right uniform wrong vocation.

Just injecting a little humour to lighten the mood :D
 
Gremlin said:
Alchoholism is a self inflicted illness,
If he had been lighting a cigarette and lost control of the car, would you all be defending him ?
I doubt it and yet that is also an an addiction that can kill and drains NHS resources, yet everytime
the subject of smoking comes up people are anti it, what's the difference both are self inflicted addictions
I'd love to know how much drinking cost the NHS and how many innocent people are injured/maimed due
to drunken behaviour, either their own or other peoples.
Drinking is seen as socially acceptable so there will never be any restrictions on as there have been on smoking in public etc.
If the child in the car had died would everyone feel the same ?

For the record I am a non smoker
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It’s not always self inflicted, it can be a hereditary problem. I actually doubt many people would chose to be an alcoholic.
 
I am not defending Ant in any way but if you've never lived with Alcoholism in your lives then you have no idea what it's like to be an alcoholic.

I lost my Big brother at 49 years old and my Partner lost her Father at 50 to the demon drink.

Alcoholism is nothing like smoking, you are in a clear mind when you pick up a packet of fags and spark one up as they say. I used to be a 60 a day smoker so I know, NOTE used to be.

I watched my brother lose everything in life including access to his Daughter to the drink, he started out with a few too many pints and ended up on a litre and a half of vodka a day. He drove drunk and with my Mum in the car.

If you think Ants Mum shouldn't have let him drive, then your right but you won't stop an alcoholic getting behind the wheel they will do it regardless of the dangers. Alcohol takes away any common sense and dulls the thoughts, life becomes unclear and they live in a self perpetuating bubble. My Mum got in the car with my brother and his driving was shocking.

Alchohol dulls all the senses and takes away any inhibitions and sense of consequence, just look at the dicks that you see on CCTV acting up on a Saturday night after the pubs in town.

Ant in my opinion should have his licence revoked until he can prove he's been sober for at least 12 months which is unlikely in his present condition.

He needs to be helped to get to the bottom of why he drinks, there is always an underlying reason. There are thousands of alcoholics in remission who live a normal life but have been helped to find the reason to drink. As a public figure he is going to find it difficult to get to a point where he can be left alone to sort out his life, or maybe not but only he can decide and might never do that.

What he has done is unforgivable and needs punishment but if you've never been involved with an alcoholic then you can't really judge.

For those that think that Alcohol problems will never affect them then look around at work, on the street, in the local shop. It's all around us and is very easy to hide. Not every alcoholic stinks of booze they become devious by nature, drink vodka to cover most of the odour and hide that very fact.

Hopefully those doubters will never have to come into contact with it, but it happens from everyone who you think has everything to those that seem to have nothing at all. It's not a mental illness it's an addiction that covers up something else. It's not just a like the taste of, it covers up something that they cant cope with in life.

Ant has a demon that will kill him if he doesn't let that demon out. None of us know what his demon is, hopefully he will get help to work out what it is. Until then he should take his punishment and accept what happened could have been a million time worse. He will be watched like a hawk now and any step out of line will be telegraphed to everyone. Maybe that will help to push him in the right direction.
 
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