A WREXHAM teaching assistant's car ended up on its side in a crash with a parked vehicle after she'd been drinking, a court heard.

Amy Cunniffe, of Halstonwood Close, appeared at Wrexham Magistrates Court on Tuesday morning.

The 36-year-old admitted that when suspected of having driven a vehicle and being required to give a specimen of blood for analysis, she failed to do so on October 31.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told the court that on the day of the offence, police were alerted to a two-vehicle collision in Stansty Road.

Cunniffe was the driver of a Nissan Juke and she'd collided with a parked and unattended vehicle with such force that her car had ended up on its side.

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Ms Jackson said members of the public assisted in putting the vehicle back on its wheels and when officers asked if she'd been injured she said no - despite there being blood on her hand.

Police noticed the defendant smelled strongly of intoxicants and was slurring her words.

Her eyes were glazed and her pupils were "like pins," Ms Jackson said.
When she gave an initial roadside breath sample, she was found to have 134 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the limit being 35.

Cunniffe was taken into custody and at Llay Police Station, the refused to give another breath sample, claiming she was suffering from asthma.

She opted to give a sample in blood but kept moving her arm when a nurse tried to take it, which was taken as a refusal.

When she was interviewed, the defendant admitted she'd been studying at home and went for lunch at Plas Coch with her daughter.

She said she'd been drinking until the early hours of that morning from the previous night, and that she'd had a large glass of wine with her lunch.

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Cunniffe estimated she'd had around two-and-a-half bottled of wine in all and didn't realise the alcohol consumed during the previous night and early hours would still be in her system.

She'd been struggling with post-natal depression, and had developed a drinking problem, the court heard.

Ms Jackson added the defendant had also been before the court in 2016 for drink driving, when she received a one-year ban.

Catherine Jagger, defending, said her client was "rightly" mortified to find herself in the dock and was deeply remorseful, having described the incident as the "darkest" day of her life.

"It has been a very dramatic wake-up call for her," she continued.

"She's a devoted mother and someone who takes full responsibility.

"She has sought help since and it's something she clearly knew there were some issues - but no one realised to what extent."

Probation officer Andrew Connah told the court: "She left school at 16 and went onto college.

"She is currently in full time employment working as a teaching assistant and immediately disclosed this offence to her headmaster, who has told her she'll need to go before a committee to determine if she is able to keep her job.

"The hope is that she will be able to.

"She tells me she has abstained [for alcohol] totally since the offence and has sought help on a voluntary basis."

District Judge Gwyn Jones said the evidence had shown "high levels of impairment," and told the defendant his starting point had to be immediate custody.

But there were positives in her case, he said, and her early guilty plea persuaded him to step back from custody.

He imposed a 12-month community sentence with 20 days of rehabilitation activity and 130 hours of unpaid work.

The defendant was banned from driving for 36 months and must pay £85 costs, as well as a £114 surcharge.