‘Flying bat’ led to sister’s tree crash

Danielle Wilcock ‘s mini hit a tree on Clifton Drive, Lytham after she swerved when a flying bat hit her windscreen.

Her car was smouldering as witnesses ran to it and freed the education worker and her sister just before it ignited.

Wilcock, 22, of Clifton Drive, Lytham admitted drink driving when she appeared before Blackpool Magistrates.

Pam Smith, prosecuting, said police were called to the scene of the crash and breath tested Wilcock because she smelled of alcohol.

She was taken to hospital and treated for injuries and then tested again which revealed she had 134 milligrammes of alcohol in her blood when the legal limit is 80.

The court heard Wilcock had drunk two glasses of wine before driving her sister into Lytham to buy cigarettes.

Trevor Colebourne, defending, said: “They were on their way back home when what my client believes was a bat hit her windscreen.”

“She swerved and hit a tree. She and her sister were extremely fortunate that members of the public extracted them from the car just before it burst into flames. She is forever grateful to those people.”

The court heard that Wilcock needed a driving licence for her work and had resigned her post at Blackpool Council because she knew she was to be banned.

Magistrates fined her £110 and banned her from the road for 12 months.