Former Top Gear and The Grand Tour host Richard Hammond is back in the spotlight after being fined for speeding and buying a £2 million mansion in Wales, while his daughter Izzy recently survived a dramatic crash.
Speeding fines and penalty points
The 56-year-old was fined £999 after being caught speeding twice in Herefordshire within three weeks. He drove a Porsche at 68mph in a 50mph zone on the A40 in Pencraig on December 2 last year, and 20 days later was clocked at 82mph in a 70mph limit in his Bentley Continental GT on the M50 Rudhall Overbridge.
Hammond pleaded guilty through his solicitor last month, receiving seven penalty points and ordered to pay £772 in costs and victim surcharges on top of the fine.
Tracking down the presenter
Court papers revealed that police had difficulty reaching Hammond, sending letters to his multiple properties, including a Grade II* listed castle in Herefordshire bought in 2012 and a £1 million farm estate near Hereford. Letters were returned marked "addressee gone away" before he was found at his £2 million mansion near Abergavenny, where over 30 vehicles are registered.
He purchased the six-bedroom Georgian manor house in Llanwenarth earlier this year, set in 21 acres with a domed orangery, tennis courts, wine cellar, and private boating lake. The purchase followed his split from wife Mindy last year after 28 years together.
Daughter's crash
The couple share daughters Izzy and Willow. Izzy, a motorsport influencer with nearly half a million followers, crashed during the Evo Series event in Saudi Arabia. Racing a Formula E car in Jeddah, she hit a barrier just over a minute into her lap, causing significant damage but escaping without injury.
She later apologised to her team, Lola, on social media, saying: "Massive apologies to my team, Lola. They've been so amazing and I returned the favour by putting their car into a wall sideways and destroying it, so that's not great. I don't think I had enough heat in my tyres so I was trying to break and I was trying to turn and it all sort of went a bit t**s up."
Her father survived a serious crash in 2006 while attempting the British land speed record in a jet-powered Vampire dragster. After reaching 288mph, a tyre blowout caused the vehicle to flip repeatedly. Hammond suffered brain injuries and spent two weeks in a coma, but recovered fully.
