TV star Billy Monger has been banned from driving after causing a large crash.
The former racing driver and Celebrity Race Across The World star crashed into three parked cars in Surrey. Police say he lost control of his black Toyota Supra on a 30mph road in Limpsfield ploughing into the cars before coming to rest in a garden.
Monger, 25, of Stan Hill, Charlwood, admitted driving without due care and attention. His car hit a Volkswagen Lupo, a Volkswagen Golf and a Citroen C, causing damage to all three, before smashing into a lampost, wall and hedge in Snatts Hill around 11.55pm on January 19.
Monger, who starred in Race Across the World and is currently training for an Ironman triathlon world championships for Comic Relief, was disqualified from driving for a total of 49 days and was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £2,694 at Guildford Magistrates’ Court. Rick Scholey, supervisor for the Road Traffic Collision team, which investigated the case, said: “Monger was not paying attention when he lost control of his car which resulted in him colliding with three parked cars, causing significant damage to the vehicles before then colliding with a hedge and wall belonging to a nearby house.”
His Toyota Supra smashed through a garden wall (
Surrey Police)
Billy was initially charged with failing to stop – but this was dropped (
Getty Images)
“Thankfully, no one was in the road at the time otherwise this could have had far more serious consequences.” Witnesses at the scene claim that his car was travelling between 40 – 50mph in a 30mph zone. The court heard that Billy had left the scene of the midnight crash with his female passenger.
He had pleaded with the court to retain his license as he said it would aid his own restricted mobility. Bench Chair Ann Whelan told Billy, who appeared via videolink: “We note your previous driving record and will not depart from the guidelines. From this moment in time you are a disqualified driver and cannot drive. If you do so it is a serious offence you could go to prison for.”
The racer already had six points on his license for speeding offences on March 7, 2021, and October 28, 2023. Meanwhile, prosecutor Russel Greenhouse told the court: “This was a damage-only four vehicle road collision involving a black Toyota Supra driven by this defendant and a silver VW Lupo, a silver VW Golf and a red Citroen. It is a residential road with a slight gradient and a 30mph limit. Cars are parked on both sides, the weather was fair and the road conditions fine. There were two witnesses to the collision and the first, who was sitting in his car, says the black Supra passed him at high speed and his car shook as it passed at an estimate of 40mph-50mph.
“The vehicle has slightly lost control, scuffed the VW and gone through a bush and hedge and collided with the two cars in the driveway. The second witness says they heard a loud raging engine and saw the vehicle losing control, leave the road and come to rest in the garden.” Billy reported the incident the next morning but allegedly gave no details of the incident to Surrey Police. He was initially charged with failing to stop but this was later dropped.
Duncan Jones, Monger’s lawyer told the court: “This is an unusual case, given Mr Monger’s personal background. This accident was caused by excessive speed and Mr Monger accepts that he drove without due care and attention and his lapse was driving too fast around the bend.
“He accepts that he was driving too quickly and this accident would not have happened otherwise.” He added: “Mr Monger wants to make it clear that he does not want to get special treatment, but the impact of a disqualification for a young man with his disability is a relevant consideration for the court. He has no previous convictions and has shown remorse by his guilty plea and you will see the impact and feelings of guilt this has had on him and he takes full responsibility for it. He was a former racing driver and in 2017, just before his eighteenth birthday he was involved in a crash and that accident was very serious and it was very high profile at the time.
“He was a young man with a bright future in motor racing and who knows where that would have gone, but the crash resulted in him spending five days in a coma and sadly both legs amputated.” Monger is a commentator on Formula 1 for Channel 4. He has been hailed an inspiration after he lost both his legs in crash at Donnington Park when he was just 17 years old.