Bridgnorth drink driver crashed her vehicle into a lamppost
A Bridgnorth woman who crashed her Jeep into a lamppost before reversing away from the scene has been convicted of her second case of drink driving in 10 years.
Victoria Young, 35, of Kings Loade, was spotted by a police officer on December 21 when she mounted the pavement and crashed into a lamppost in Mill Street in the town.
Miss Kerry Lovegrove, prosecuting, said the officer had noted a female driving the vehicle as it pulled away from the scene of the accident.
However, when he caught up with it to speak to the driver after it had pulled into a nearby Tesco service station, he found a man behind the wheel.
Miss Lovegrove said that Young could be seen in the passenger seat and was noticeably intoxicated.
Police arrested her on suspicion of dangerous driving and she provided a reading of 100 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.
Lovegrove admitted to officers that she had been driving the Jeep at the time of the collision and had been unaware that they were being followed by the police, the court was told.
She previously admitted drink driving when she appeared in court on January 5.
Magistrates were told that Lovegrove had two previous convictions for drink driving. However only one of them had occurred within the last ten years and could be considered in sentencing.
At Telford Magistrates Court on Friday she was banned from driving for three years and given a 12-month community order including a 12-month supervision requirement and 40 hours of unpaid work.
She was also ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and £60 victim surcharge.
Mr Michael Freeman, for Young, said that she had turned to drink after receiving an eviction notice and suffering a bereavement in her family.
He said that the defendant did have a history of alcohol problems but had kept them under control until recent stress had pushed her to drink again.
"She does not have a day to day problem but in a situation like that a) she drinks and b) she makes bad decisions," he said.
The court was told that Young, a single mother who has since found accommodation, had been driving after drinking with friends and at a pub.
