Paul Ince has been charged with drink driving after ‘crashing a Range Rover into central reservation’ on Saturday night.
The 57-year-old former footballer turned manager was arrested, charged, and bailed, with a court appearance due at Chester Magistrates this Friday.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police said: ‘At around 5pm on Saturday 28 June, police were called following reports of a collision on Chester High Road, Neston.
‘The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier.
‘Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man.
‘Paul Ince, of Neston, has since been charged with drink driving. Ince has been bailed to appear at Chester Magistrates’ Court on Friday 18 July.’
Paul Ince is arrested and charged with drink driving after former Man United and England star crashed into a central reservation https://t.co/2ORYMjw6oy
— Mail Sport (@MailSport) June 29, 2025
The incident took place close to Heswall Golf Club, from where Ince has previously posted content on Instagram.
Paul played as a midfielder from 1986 to 2007. Starting at West Ham, he later joined Manchester United, where he won two Premier League titles, two FA Cups, and a League Cup.
After a fallout with Alex Ferguson, he moved to Inter Milan, reaching the 1997 UEFA Cup final, before returning to England with Liverpool, Middlesbrough, and Wolves.
One of the few to play for both rivals Manchester United and Liverpool, Ince earned 53 England caps, scoring twice, and was the first black player to captain the Three Lions, appearing in Euro 1996, the 1998 World Cup, and Euro 2000.
He then went into management, coaching Swindon, Macclesfield, MK Dons, Blackburn, Notts County, Blackpool, and most recently Reading.
Cheshire Police: “The legal alcohol limit in England, Wales and Northern Ireland for driving is 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood or 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
“There is no way to know how much you can drink and stay under the limit, since it can depend on your weight, age, metabolism, the amount of food you’ve eaten and other factors.
“It’s impossible to get alcohol out of your system quickly, it always takes time. A shower, a cup of coffee or other ways of ‘sobering up’ may make you feel better but won’t remove the alcohol from your system.
“If you’ve been out drinking, you may still be affected by alcohol the next day and could lose your licence if you drive and are still over the legal limit.
“Alcohol affects everyone differently and any amount can impair your ability to drive. The only safe option is to avoid alcohol completely if you’re driving as even ‘just one drink’ could put you over the limit.
“If you’re driving, don’t drink any alcohol at all.”
Risks and physical effects
The biggest risk you take when driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is the risk of causing a collision.
Driving under the influence of drink or drugs is extremely dangerous and can affect your driving in numerous ways, such as:
– ability to judge speed and distance
– reaction and coordination skills
– blurry or impaired vision
– drowsiness
– aggression
– erratic behaviour
– panic attacks and paranoia
– hallucinations
– nausea
– dizziness
– tremors
Alcohol and drugs can also create a false confidence which can lead to an increase in risk-taking behaviour, which puts your life and the lives of others in danger.
Testing for alcohol
The police can stop you at any time and ask you to take a breath test (‘breathalyse’ you) if:
– they think you’ve been drinking
– you’ve committed a traffic offence
– you’ve been involved in a road traffic collision
If you refuse to take a breath test, or fail to supply a sample of breath and don’t have a ‘reasonable excuse’, you can be arrested. A reasonable excuse could be a genuine physical or mental condition stopping you from giving a sample; in this case you may be required to have a blood test.
The breath test gives a result straight away. If it shows you’re not over the drink drive limit, you may be allowed to go.
If you fail the breath test, you’ll be taken to a police station and given a final breath test. If it’s positive, you’ll be charged.
If you’re found to be over the drink-drive limit, and/or driving while impaired by drugs, you can receive:
– a criminal record
– a maximum penalty of six months in prison
– an unlimited fine
– an automatic driving ban of at least one year (three years if you have been convicted twice in 10 years)
Other problems you may face include:
– an endorsement on your driving licence for 11 years
– an increased insurance premium
– if you drive for work, your employer will see your conviction on your licence
– trouble travelling to countries like the USA
Penalties for causing death whilst driving dangerously under the influence of alcohol or drugs
If a driver kills someone while under the influence of alcohol, they can be charged with causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs (Section 3A of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (as amended by the Road Traffic Act 1991, section 3)).
“The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment if the offence was committed before 28 June 2022. If the offence was committed on or after 28 June 2022, the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.”
Twitter users gave their reaction after hearing that Paul Ince was arrested and charged with drink driving after crashing a Range Rover…
@Huntyroyal: Absolutely vile 😡 pay for a taxi rather than putting lives at risk so fecking arrogant 🙄 #readingfc
@WBeauchamp1995: Surprising, he’s yet to be charged after the car crash he caused in Berkshire in 2023
@Reading106: Expect he’ll get more points as a result of this, than he did in his final 3 months with us. #Readingfc
@B_Disappointed: Could he not afford a taxi
@mikepriestley13: And he wonders why he can’t get a managers job.. start behaving and have respect for yourself clubs might employ you! Just a thought Paul
Paul Ince
“Then a badger jumped into the middle of the road out of nowhere and l went SMASH straight into the central reservation”. pic.twitter.com/CoxDFsHuVR
— Gravy (@GravyGravy91) June 30, 2025
