A WORCESTER woman has been banned from getting behind the wheel for two years after she was caught driving nearly three times over the legal drink drive limit.
Suzanne Campbell, of the YMCA on Henwick Road, was driving a blue Nissan Micra on Davies Road in Evesham when she collided with a kerb and the barrier of a car park, Worcester Magistrates Court heard last Friday (December 5).
Smoke was coming from the vehicle following the crash, just before 2pm on November 17, and when a member of public went to speak to the 57-year-old they noticed a strong smell of alcohol and called the police, the court was also told.
Officers arrived and Campbell blew 90 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35.
Campbell, defending herself, said: “I have had a lot of things happen in my life this year.
“Work dried up and I wasn’t able to keep up with my mortgage and I had high service charges and wasn’t able to keep up with that either.
“I managed to sell my property within days of the bailiffs coming in which meant I was homeless.
“In the meantime a gentleman said I could live with him in Evesham for a while, but I got very concerned about his behaviour.
“I have never ever got in a car with drink inside me, but that day everything just came to a head. I went to Morrisons and bought a carton of wine and put my head in my hands.
“I don’t know what I was going to do I just got to the end of my tether.”
Along with the 24 month disqualification, Campbell was fined £500 for the offence and ordered to pay £85 court costs and a victim surcharge of £50.
District Judge Nigel Cadbury said: “Although you have never been in trouble before and this was seen to be a one off, you were two and a half times over the limit and there was an aggravating feature of poor driving and an accident occurring.”
