A SOLICITOR who had been drinking was stopped in her BMW after a tip-off to police.
A roadside breath test showed Lesley Delaney was almost three-and-a-half times over the alcohol limit.
But when she got to the police station the 38-year-old, who works in Blackpool and deals with road accident and personal injury cases, was described as deliberately refusing to blow enough air into the breath test machine.
Delaney, a mother-of-one, of Higher Walton Road, Higher Walton, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen.
The court heard how police spotted Delaney’s grey BMW X1 on Hill Street, Blackpool, at 5.30pm on September 14. She was stopped and the officer smelt alcohol on her breath. A roadside breath test showed 120 micrograms of alcohol in her body - 35 is the limit.
At Blackpool police station she had to take another test.
Adrian Hollamby, prosecuting, said: “She failed the procedure because she did not blow into the device with sufficient force to provide a reading, This case would be classified as a deliberate refusal to provide a sample.”
Kristian Cavanagh, defending, said his client, a woman of previous good character, was described as hysterical at the police station and was unable to provide the breath sample.
Mr Cavanagh added: “On the day of the offence her marriage broke down permanently. It had been a stressful day and she went for a drink after work.”
Delaney was sentenced to do 150 hours unpaid work for the community, disqualified from driving for two years and ordered to pay ÂŁ85 costs by Blackpool magistrates.
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