Indian-origin family attacks UK celebrity for drink-driving crash

London, March 20

An Indian-origin family involved in a car accident with a popular British celebrity said on Tuesday that the TV star who was later arrested for drink-driving never came out of his vehicle and did not apologise for crashing into them.

London-based restaurant owner Faheem Vanoo was at the wheel of his car with his wife Shilpa Dandekar and four-year-old daughter Amaira and two colleagues when television personality Ant McPartlin crashed into them.

They did not suffer serious injuries but were left shaken by the collision that took place on Tuesday.

"I don't care whether he's a millionaire and I don't care whether he's a famous TV star—he could have put my daughter in a wheelchair," Vanoo told the ‘Sun' newspaper.

"His Mini came flying around a sharp corner on the wrong side of the road trying to overtake a blue car… we were all wearing seat belts and my little girl was strapped into a child seat. But it was still a big impact,” said the 41-year-old.

After the collision, they saw the television personality sitting slumped at the wheel behind car air bags.

"I was so angry with him I lost my cool and tried to run up to him and smash his face—I had to be held back… After I calmed down someone asked him if he was ok but he never said a word to us and never apologised,” said Dandekar.

"The horn of his car was blaring and my little girl was crying in shock. It was a terrible, chaotic scene. It was a little while later before I realised it was Ant," recalled the 36-year-old chef, who suffered a bruised lip in the accident.

Their daughter was assessed in an ambulance at the scene but did not require hospital treatment.

The family were on their way to an evening shift at their restaurant 'Pure Indian' in southwest London.

Ant McPartlin has since been arrested and bailed on suspicion of drink-driving. His flagship show 'Saturday Night Takeaway' has been pulled off the air for this weekend while he has checked into rehab. PTI