George Best’s ex-wife loses license for drink-driving

Alex best was found to be three times over the legal drinking limit after she enjoyed "spritzers" at the pub with a friend
PA

The ex-wife of football legend George Best has been found guilty of drink-driving.

Alex Best, 47, was found to be three times the legal limit after she crashed into another vehicle near her home in Kingswood, Surrey on April 6.

She was married to Manchester United and Northern Ireland footballer Best for nine years. He died of multiple organ failure in 2005 aged 59, following years of alcohol addiction.

The former 'I'm a Celebrity' contestant pleaded guilty to the drink-driving charge at Guildford Magistrates' Court on Friday.

George Best is celebrated as a footballing legend but suffered decades of alcohol addiction and was accused of domestic abuse by former wives

She was disqualified from driving for 24 months, given a 12-month community order and instructed to carry out 60 hours of unpaid work.

The court heard that her breathalyser reading was 106 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – more than three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes.

In mitigation, solicitor Robin Falvey described Best as “a person who never drinks and drives", adding that she had "never been in trouble before".

Mr Falvey said Best had been shopping when she received a phone call from a friend who invited her to the pub, where she enjoyed "what she described as spritzers".

“She realised that she should not drive,” he added, explaining that it was the day of the Grand National and she had spent a "considerable amount of time" trying to get a cab.

Best was described as being "absolutely remorseful" following the incident
PA

"That is when she made the bad mistake and drove," he said.

A two-vehicle collision, in which no-one was injured, then took place. Best called the police immediately afterwards to report the accident.

A second call was made to police soon after to raise concerns over the possible “intoxication” of one of the drivers, according to Prosecutor Darren Matravers.

"She is absolutely devastated by what has happened," Mr Falvey said following the court order, adding that the consequences would have a "huge impact" on her life.

The former WAG is currently unemployed and lives in a remote area. She will have to sell her cottage home, the solicitor said

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in