Media claim Wham star held over drink, drugs

[jayanthi mandhalapu]

 BRITISH media claim pop star George Michael was arrested and questioned after his Land Rover car collided with a truck in Britain.
The singer, 46, was held on suspicion of driving under the influence of drink and drugs but was released without charge after five hours, the BBC said.

He was taken to the Lodden Valley police station near Reading in southeast England in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Police confirmed the accident but would not say whether the singer and former star of 1980s pop band Wham had been involved.

"Officers were called at 1am on August 14 to a collision on the southbound carriageway of the A34, approximately two miles north of the M4," a spokeswoman for Thames Valley Police said.

"It was between a silver Land Rover and an articulated lorry. The driver of the Land Rover, a 46-year-old man, was arrested at the scene.

"He was taken to Lodden Valley police station where he was questioned and released at 5.55am."

The truck driver told the Daily Mail newspaper: "He seemed completely disorientated, like he had no idea what was going on."

"He looked totally dazed and even tried to climb into the cab of my lorry," Laurie Rowe said.

"He hit me so hard that it knocked my rear axle two feet up in the air," he added.

"When I stopped the lorry and got out to see what had happened, I didn't think he would have survived."

A spokeswoman for Michael denied the reports, telling the Sun newspaper they were rubbish.

In 2006, Michael was found slumped over the wheel of his car and was subsequently given a two-year driving ban after pleading guilty to driving while unfit through drugs.

The star, who has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, with seven US number one singles, 11 number one singles in Britain and six number one albums, was also cautioned for drugs possession in 2008.