Martin Skinnerjailedafter cocaine crash

His Porsche hit a tree with such force it caused the entire engine to be ejected from the vehicle.

Martin Skinnerjailedafter cocaine crash

London property developer, Martin Skinner, has been banged up after crashing his Porsche whilst under the influence of cocaine.

Skinner, who is well-known in the development sector, is founder and chief executive of Inspired Developments which specialises in converting buildings into micro apartments.

HoweverMHA MacIntyre Hudson has been brought in as joint administrator following the imprisonment of Skinner.

Before sentencing the court heard that Skinner had wrapped his Porsche around a tree on the A281 Guildford Road.

The Porsche hit the tree with such force it caused the entire engine to be ejected from the vehicle.

He was travelling with a30-year-old woman from Londonwho was severely injured andhad to be flown to hospital.

Shestayed in an induced coma for over a week.

The passenger, who was still recovering, told the court that everything had been a blur because Skinner was driving so fast.

She also said she had asked him to slow down.

Following the crashSkinnerfailed aroadside drug testwhich testedpositive for cocaine.

Once he wastaken to hospital,withwhat was described asserious injuries,he refused to give another sample for evidence.

He had initially pleaded not guilty to the charges claiming the road surface was "defective" and he was not fit enough to give his consent to giving a specimen to police at the time.

Investigating officer sergeant Tony Crisp, of the Sussex Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: "While Skinner did not set out to cause an accident that day, he had clearly set out to drive around the countryside in a high powered car, at high speed, and under the influence of cocaine, resulting in a crash that caused the victim in this case to sustain a life-changing injury.

"He sought to prevent the police from taking a blood sample to establish how much cocaine he had in his system and until the very last moment refused to accept responsibility for his actions.”

After being found guiltySkinner was ordered to pay a total of £1,815 in fines and costs and was disqualified from driving until May 2022.

He was also imprisoned for 22 months.

On the day of the trial Skinner arrived two hours late in his Maclaren sports car claiming his alarm clock did not wake him up in time.

He was charged with failing to surrender to bail and following legal advice pleaded guilty to all charges.

When summing up the judge described Skinner as "arrogant" and declined to give him any credit for his guilty plea.

Skinner’scompanieshavepotential assets of £100m.