Spurs´ Bentley gets one-year driving ban

Tottenham and England midfielder David Bentley was banned from driving for a year on Friday after admitting drink-driving.

Bentley pleaded guilty during the hearing at St Albans Magistrates’ Court to drink-driving on August 13 in Hertfordshire.

The 24-year-old crashed his Porsche into a lamp post after drinking four pints of lager and two spirits at a gig in London.

He was found to have 51 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath, taking him 16 micrograms over the legal limit of 35.

Bentley, who was arrested at the scene in the early hours of the morning, told police he had parked his car at the railway station while at the gig with friends. He was going to take a taxi home, he said, but decided to drive instead because he didn’t want to leave his car in the car park.

But he over-steered when rounding a corner, hit the kerb and then hit the lamp post.

The police arrived as he was trying to move his car out of the poorly-lit road.

His lawyer, Adam Davis, told the court that Bentley had already suffered some severe consequences of the incident.

Spurs had issued him with a club fine of two weeks’ wages; he had lost a commercial contract with sportswear company Puma; and the sustained adverse press coverage of the incident has been very upsetting for Bentley and his family, he said.

Mr Davis added: “He’s been hit very hard in the pocket. These are significant sums of money he’s lost as a consequence of this incident.”

Bentley’s partner is pregnant and due to give birth in five weeks and he will also need to drive to carry out the charity work he was involved in, his lawyer said.

District Judge Caroline Mellanby said she gave the footballer full credit for his plea of guilty and was prepared to offer him a three-month deduction from his driving ban if he attended a drink-driving rehabilitation course.

Bentley, originally from Peterborough, was once seen as the natural successor to David Beckham for the England team but more recently he has fallen out of favour.

In a statement on the Spurs website after the incident Bentley wrote: “I should like to apologise to my club and the supporters for my actions which led to my car accident and my subsequent charge.

“It was wholly unacceptable and I fully appreciate that as a professional footballer I have a duty to behave in a reputable and responsible manner.

“I am thankful that nobody was injured in the accident. This has been a wake-up call for me both personally and professionally.”