Former Liverpool player Jordon Ibe was banned from driving today for crashing his high-powered Bentley into a coffee shop, causing thousands of pounds of damage.
The ex-Reds winger was slammed for driving away from the scene after only briefly stopping following the crash on July 30, last year, at 5am, in south east London.
The 24-year-old was driving too fast, Bromley Magistrates' Court heard, and became distracted just before the collision into The Pantry, on Plaistow Lane.
The damage to the shop was so extensive it had to shut for six weeks, with the owners fearing they would go out of business.
The husband of owner and mum-of-three Sarah Dixon had to sleep in the shop overnight while its recently renovated frontage was made secure, and staff could not be paid during the closure.
The Dixons are also unhappy that Ibe, now employed by Bournemouth, has never apologised to them, they claimed.
Today, Ibe was handed a 16-month driving disqualification and 12-month community order.
The winger, who moved from Liverpool for a fee of £15m in 2016, after failing to deliver on his early promise at Anfield, was also fined £7,500.
Prosecutor Bina Morjaria read out statements from victims, including one by Mrs Dixon, who said: "I was shocked at the damage to the front of the shop, I thought we had been robbed.
"I was devastated.
"Financially I knew that the damage was enough to make the shop close for several weeks.
"I'm dismayed that someone who is as high profile as he is has not even tendered an apology to us."
Ibe already had 11 penalty points at the time of the crash.
He also hit a Mercedes amid the melee of the accident, with owner Philip Lock needing to pay more than £2,800 to have it repaired.
Ibe, wearing a black puffer jacket over a white top in court, spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and British nationality during the hearing.
He sat looking at the floor of the court room dock as mitigation was provided by his lawyer Frank Rogers, who told the court that Ibe accepted his driving was sub-standard.
Mr Rogers said that Ibe had spent much of his life "cocooned in the artificial world of football" which had left him "not well-educated" and "ignorant of his duties."
He added Ibe had stopped at the scene of the crash for "a period of time" and returned to the coffee shop that afternoon to find it closed.
He later voluntarily entered discussions to agree compensation.
Mr Rogers said Ibe's early career, signing for Liverpool on his sixteenth birthday, had not become "what everybody might have expected" and faces his contract with Bournemouth expiring in the summer.
He also said Ibe was the victim of an armed robbery in 2016 where "armed criminals" crashed into his vehicle and "threatened him with guns and a machete," which left him "fearing for his safety."
District judge Catherine Moore also ordered him to pay £500 compensation to those affected by the crash, as well as a £181 surcharge and £775 in costs.
Judge Moore said Ibe had been driving too quickly and "became distracted", adding he "did not stop at the scene for long enough".
Ibe admitted a charge of careless driving and was found guilty of one count of failing to stop after an accident.
In a statement read by Mr Rogers to journalists after the hearing, Ibe said: "I accept full responsibility for my actions and lack of judgement when driving.
"I apologise unreservedly to those whose property I damaged."
He also apologised to his family, teammates, fans and manager Eddie Howe.
