Drink-drive mum crippled her son

A Shropshire mother crashed her car paralysing her five-year-old son for life while more than three times the drink-drive limit, a court heard.

Rachel Baines, of Hordley, Ellesmere, crashed her Audi into a stationary minibus on the B5009 at Babbinswood, near Oswestry, on January 15 last year. Her son Thomas, who was a back-seat passenger, received "extensive" injuries.

He is now paralysed from his armpits down, but has some use of his arms and hands, Shrewsbury Crown Court heard yesterday.

Mr Michael Garrett, for Baines, told the court: "She will never stop blaming herself for what she did."

Baines, 30, previously admitted dangerous driving and driving with excess alcohol. She was yesterday sentenced to a year in prison, suspended for two years, and placed under supervision for 12 months.

Baines was told to complete a drink-impaired drivers programme, undertake 200 hours' unpaid work in the community and was disqualified from driving for four years and must take an extended test. She was also ordered to pay £250 costs.

Mr Makkan Shoker, prosecuting, said: "It is abundantly clear she had a drink problem."

He said she picked Thomas up from school and went to a pub where she had two alcoholic drinks.

Mr Shoker said she went to a shop to buy 16 or 18 cans of lager and the accident happened on the way home.

He said: "Her son, who was sitting in the rear seat, apparently had not been seat belted properly and was shunted forward. He received extensive injuries. She was three times over the legal limit with 107 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath."

The legal limit is 35.

Mr Garrett said: "She herself received little or no injury. The person who has been tragically and seriously injured was her son Thomas."

He said there was evidence that Thomas was wearing a seat belt and there was a child booster seat recovered from the vehicle.

He said: "The accident investigator cannot say one way or another whether Thomas was actually seated on the booster at the time."