Tuesday, July 9, 2013

'Do you know who my dad is? He's rich': What drunk BMW crash girl said after wrecking three homes in her convertible

A MILLIONAIRE’S daughter smashed into three houses in her BMW – and then told the shocked  owners: ‘Do you know who my dad is? He’s rich.’
Laura Binch, 19, was drunk on  champagne when she destroyed the fronts of the terrace homes while  driving her luxury convertible.
The crash left a safety barrier pole embedded into a sofa where one resident had been watching television.
'Arrogance': Laura Binch, 19, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Derby Crown Court, after smashing her BMW Convertible into three house fronts while over the limit
'Arrogance': Laura Binch, 19, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving at Derby Crown Court, after smashing her BMW Convertible into three house fronts while over the limit
Binch has admitted dangerous driving and was sent to a young offenders’ institution for six months by a judge who  condemned her ‘arrogance’.
Her home is Hopwell Hall, a ten-bedroom period mansion in Derbyshire, and she went to a £8,800-a-term private college. She is a keen horse-rider who was selected for the Junior GB show jumping team in 2011.
Her father, Steve, 50, runs a property company. He made his fortune after founding a car rental firm and was featured in the 2008 Sunday Times Rich List, when he was said to be worth £65million.

A judge heard his daughter had been drinking champagne at her home in Ockbrook with two friends last October.
She decided to drive to the Wilmot Arms, the pub owned by her father a mile away.

David Outterside, prosecuting, said she downed more champagne there and became hostile when staff tried to stop serving her.
Binch then argued with other customers in the car park who told her not to drive. ‘She was rude and in drink,’ said Mr Outterside.

Shock: Sophie Hutchby is pictured standing in what used to be her living room in the wake of the crash last October
Shock: Tenant Sophie Hutchby is pictured standing amidst the wreckage of her living room in the wake of the crash last October

Damage: A court was told Binch 'showed no concern' and 'didn't apologise' after ploughing into the houses on Nottingham Road in Derbyshire last October
Damage: A court was told Binch 'showed no concern' and 'didn't apologise' after ploughing into the houses on Nottingham Road in Derbyshire last October

'ARROGANT' TEEN IS DAUGHTER OF MILLIONAIRE BUSINESSMAN

Binch’s father, company director Steve Binch, 50, founded Tamworth-based car rental firm Drive Assist in 1992, and was rated among Britain’s wealthiest people on the Sunday Times Rich List in 2008, when he was said to have a personal fortune of £65m.

However, the firm went into administration in 2012 with the loss of 259 jobs.

Binch had originally been charged with drink-driving as well as dangerous driving. But the drink-driving charge was dropped at an earlier hearing because it was considered the dangerous driving charge was sufficient to cover the nature of the incident.

The decision was criticised by the judge, who commented that once a person is convicted of drink-driving, they are automatically liable for a three-year ban for a second identical offence.
As her friends begged her to slow down, Binch lost control on a bend, the court heard. Her car demolished the safety barrier and smashed into the homes in  Borrowash village at 1.20am.
After narrowly escaping being hit by the barrier pole, Matthew Fleming stepped shaken through the hole left in his home by the BMW. Binch then tried to snatch a phone off him, saying: ‘Do you know who my dad is? He’s rich.’
Mr Outterside said: ‘She showed no remorse at the scene, she showed no concern for the householders and didn’t apologise.’
She was breathalysed and found to have 127 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80. Binch claimed she had swerved to avoid ‘something that ran into the road’.
Judge John Burgess told her: ‘Whether it was the drink talking, there was a high degree of  arrogance. It was a miracle nobody was seriously injured and your  culpability was high.’
Martin Callery, mitigating at Derby Crown Court, said: ‘She has put her parents through the embarrassment and indignity of attending court with her.
‘She bitterly regrets this incident. Whether it was showing off,  arrogance or drunken bravado, perhaps.’ The judge responded: ‘It sounds like all three to me.’
Driving ban: Binch had been drinking champagne with friends at the Wilmot Arms, her father's pub, but became hostile when staff 'stopped the tab', the court heard
Driving ban: Binch had been drinking champagne with friends at the Wilmot Arms, her father's pub, but became hostile when staff 'stopped the tab', the court heard
Mr Callery added that Binch  had planned to start work at a talent-spotting company in London. A post on the website of Trent College in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, which she attended, describes how she spent much of her free time training with her horse Grangewood in Glover.
On her Twitter feed, Binch has called herself a ‘Daddy’s girl’.
The court also banned her from driving for two years and ordered her to pay costs of £500.
dailymail.co.uk
 

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