Katie Price has a long history of motoring offences and police say she is lucky not to be spending Christmas behind bars
Katie Price may yet face a jail term over a drink-drive crash, with police saying they are "exploring an appeal" after the former glamour model was given a suspended prison sentence on Thursday.
The 43-year-old was sentenced to
16-weeks in prison, suspended for 12 months, by District Judge Amanda Kelly at Crawley Magistrates' Court, and ordered to do 100-hours of community service. Her driving ban - Price was already disqualified from driving when she crashed - was extended for two years and she was ordered to pay £213 in costs on top of the £7,358 she already owed the court.
Price had
earlier admitted drink-driving, driving while disqualified, and driving without insurance, following the crash at 6.20am on the B2135 near Partridge Green, West Sussex, in September. After the accident, she told police:
“I took drugs, I should not be driving. I admit it all."
After her sentencing, James Collis, head of roads policing for Sussex Police and Surrey Police, released a statement stating that police are "exploring an appeal".
He said the force did not feel the sentencing reflected Price's "history of motoring offences" and added that she is "lucky not to be spending Christmas behind bars".
Collis' statement read: “Today’s sentencing, as the judge explained, could have and should have been much worse and, in our view, Price is extremely lucky not to be spending Christmas behind bars.
“Given the circumstances and her history of motoring offences, it’s clear she did not consider the risk of her actions to the wider public or the implications for her own family. “We are now exploring whether we can appeal this sentence.”
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Price was spared jail due to a decision made at an earlier hearing where a magistrate agreed to defer sentencing on the understanding that Price would attend rehab facility, The Priory, for treatment, and did not commit any further offences.
Because Price adhered to those conditions, District Judge Amanda Kelly explained on Thursday that the reality TV star and mother-of-five could not be jailed.
Judge Kelly told Price that she deserved to spend Christmas in jail and reprimanded her for showing "no concern for the lives of others" when she got behind the wheel while intoxicated: "You could have easily killed somebody".
The Sun on Thursday ran a story featuring several families of drink-drive victims blasting Price as a "spoiled princess" who seemed above the law.
Kirsty Martell, whose 21-year-old brother Frank was killed in 2017, told the newspaper: "It's a disgusting sentence. Price has escaped with just a slap on the wrist. "This is just another example of how drink-driving isn't taken seriously until someone is killed."
Last month Price and her partner, Carl Woods, got married in Las Vegas.
