Lady Colin Campbell found guilty of causing crash by pulling into path of another car

Socialite Lady Colin Campbell has been found guilty of causing a three-car crash by pulling on to a dual carriageway into traffic.

Campbell, 67, is said to have performed the unsafe manoeuvre when she pulled out in her Audi A6 estate on to the A27 near Worthing, West Sussex, on May 6 last year.

A trial at Brighton Magistrates' Court heard that as Campbell pulled out, an Audi A3 hit her car and was "catapulted" into a Ford Focus travelling in the opposite direction.

Prosecutors said there was no reason for the way Campbell pulled out into the road, calling it an "error of judgement". 

Paul Edwards said: "At 4.15pm on May 6 2016, the defendant was driving her vehicle, an Audi A6, near her home at Castle Goring.

"The defendant reached the junction of the A27 and attempted to turn left on to the A27. The prosecution says that the defendant failed to give way and pulled out into the path of an Audi A3."

Alcohol and drug tests of all those involved in the collision proved negative, and only minor injuries were sustained, Mr Edwards said.

He added: "That manoeuvre was not a safe one. The prosecution says she created the situation."

Chair of the bench Michael Sandeman said the prosecution had proved Campbell's driving "fell below the standard".

Campbell, from near Worthing, had pleaded not guilty to driving without due care and attention.

The I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! star smiled for photographers as she arrived at court supported by her son Dima.

The other Audi driver, Harry Court, told the hearing he had been travelling home from work when the collision happened.

He denied suggestions by Campbell's lawyer Miles Bennett that he was driving dangerously fast, saying he was doing just under the 70mph speed limit.

Mr Court said: "I tried to go round it and that's all I can remember. I hit the side of the car and that was it.

"I couldn't do anything. I couldn't brake. All I could do was turn my wheel to avoid the car."

Witness Nicholas Ward said he saw the Audi A3 speed by him before the crash, adding: "I thought, 'What a t--t'. I could see what was going to happen and it did."

Teacher Tessa Millington said she saw a "flash of blue" before Mr Court's car crashed into her's as she headed towards Brighton.

Campbell sprang to fame on the 2015 series of I'm A Celebrity with her cutting put-downs, but left the show early on medical grounds.