A CARE home worker was almost three times over the limit when she crashed her car in the pedestrian area of a pelican crossing.
Gail Hatton told police: “I had half-a-bottle of vodka one hour before driving.”
Hatton, 46, of Elvaston Road, Poulton, pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.
She was banned from the road for 26 months, put on 12 months’ supervision and ordered to pay £60 victims’ by Blackpool magistrates.
Chrissie Hunt, prosecuting, said an off-duty police officer was following Hatton as she drove a Ford Focus on Garstang Road West, Blackpool, at around 7.40pm on February 28. The officer saw her veer into the centre of the road.
She crashed into a pedestrian island of a pelican crossing, causing substantial damage to traffic lights, railings and her own car.
A breath test showed 103 micrograms of alcohol in her body – 35 is the limit.
Gary McAnulty, defending, said: “She is a recovering alcoholic. She has had significant family problems and has fallen off the wagon as a result of those problems.”
Hatton was at present the sole wage earner for her family after her husband had an accident falling from scaffolding.
She was seeing a counsellor and her doctor about her alcohol problem.
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