A man has been told he was “very lucky” not to be shot after crashing his car into the Buckingham Palace gates.
Johnny Scott, 26, drove his VW Polo into the south centre gate of the royal residence on March 9 last year, causing £24,493 in damage.
No members of the royal family were at the palace when the collision happened, a palace spokesman said at the time.
Scott was approached by armed officers who arrested him at the scene immediately after the incident, while the vehicle he was driving was subsequently destroyed, Westminster Magistrates Court heard on Thursday.
The court previously heard the defendant, of Dalewood Close, Hornchurch, east London, appeared “fidgety and dazed” after the incident and said: “I have to fix this and these c****”.
The defendant had been taking mood stabilisers a few months prior to the incident.
Aamina Khalid, defending, said Scott had a “psychotic episode” and suffered a relapse of bipolar disorder when the incident occurred, and was “not able to understand what his actions were” as a result.
Scott had not been under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the incident, Ms Khalid said.
His family had called local mental health services “multiple times” before the incident and had even reached out to their local MP, she said.
She told the court Scott expressed “a deep remorse” for what happened and that it had been “completely out of character”.
District judge Neeta Minhas told Scott: “You have caused a very high level of damage to a structure that is of huge cultural importance in the United Kingdom.
“You are very lucky that you didn’t get yourself shot that day.”
She handed Scott a 12-month community order and imposed an exclusion on entering the SW1 1AA postcode.
He was also ordered to undertake 100 hours of unpaid work within the next year, and to pay £5,000 in compensation over a period of two years.
No victim surcharge was included.
Scott pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal damage over £5,000 on January 16.
The defendant appeared in court wearing a blue suit and tie and spoke only to confirm his name, address and date of birth.
He sat in the dock as the sentence was handed down and was supported by members of his family in the public gallery.
