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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Road rage' marquess sent to jail | 'Road rage' marquess sent to jail |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| An aristocrat who admitted three driving charges including a road rage attack on another motorist's car has been jailed for six months. | An aristocrat who admitted three driving charges including a road rage attack on another motorist's car has been jailed for six months. |
| The Marquess of Blandford, Charles Spencer-Churchill, was jailed on two charges of dangerous driving, one of careless driving and criminal damage. | The Marquess of Blandford, Charles Spencer-Churchill, was jailed on two charges of dangerous driving, one of careless driving and criminal damage. |
| He admitted the offences at an earlier hearing at Oxford Crown Court. | He admitted the offences at an earlier hearing at Oxford Crown Court. |
| The Duke of Marlborough's son, commonly known as Jamie Blandford, is currently being treated at the Priory Hospital. | |
| The court heard how the Marquess, aged 51, of Wootton Downs, Oxford, had "retreated into a life of drugs". | The court heard how the Marquess, aged 51, of Wootton Downs, Oxford, had "retreated into a life of drugs". |
| Driving like yours is decidedly criminal The judge | |
| His doctor at the hospital in London had said his progress would be "undermined by a custodial sentence". | |
| But the judge said: "There cannot be one standard for the unhappy and another for those settled in life. | But the judge said: "There cannot be one standard for the unhappy and another for those settled in life. |
| "Driving like yours is decidedly criminal." | "Driving like yours is decidedly criminal." |
| At the time of the offences the Marquess was battling with a number of "personal crises", including a split from his wife and a relapse into drug taking, the court heard. | |
| Rachel Drake, prosecuting, said the first offence took place on the M42 motorway on 16 June last year, when a police patrol spotted his Range Rover Sport on the northbound carriageway. | |
| Video footage | |
| She said the officer noticed it was driving "extremely close" to the vehicle in front and was "undertaking, straddling the lanes and meandering across the road". | |
| The court was then shown video footage from inside the police car which showed the Range Rover moving in and out of traffic without indicating before pulling on to a slip road. | |
| The police car reached speeds of 95mph to catch up with the Marquess. | |
| Ms Drake said that at the time the speed limit was fluctuating between 40mph and 60mph. |