A woman who was more than three times the drink-drive limit had been 'exceptionally upset' following a bereavement and a family dispute, a court heard.

Alison Cartwright, of Cae Bychan in Flint, appeared at Mold Magistrates Court on Thursday. 

The 61-year-old had admitted at a previous hearing that on June 23, at Barnard Castle in County Durham, she drove a Vauxhall Crosslander on the A67 after consuming so much alcohol that the proportion of it in her breath exceeded the prescribed limit.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told the court that at around 10.20am on the day of the offence, police on patrol in the Bridgegate area of Barnard Castle were alerted to the defendant's manner of driving.

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She was seen crossing the central white line on the road more than once and when police carried out a roadside test, she was over the alcohol limit.

After being arrested, she provided an evidential sample of 123 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - more than three times the legal limit of 35.

She was a woman of previous good character, Ms Jackson added.
Melissa Griffiths, defending, told the court her client retired last November after working all her life as a manager in the banking industry.

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The defendant's mother, who lived in the Durham area, died nine days before the offence, Ms Griffiths explained.

There ensued a 'family dispute' in which the defendant was kept out of the funeral planning - which was "exceptionally upsetting to her."

Ms Griffiths said: "The day before this [offence], she'd been to her mother's house, spoken to the funeral director and was in the process of helping to clear the house.

"She accepts she had a considerable amount to drink the night before the offence, an also that at 3am - unable to sleep - she got up and drank again.

"She's thoroughly ashamed of herself and has been driving for 44 years. Nothing like this has ever happened before.

"She doesn't have an issue with alcohol but accepts on this occasion she drank too much.

The Leader:

"It was a combination of being upset, being kept out of the funeral arrangements and the loss of her mother."

Ms Griffiths added her client was "fully cooperative" with the police.

District Judge Gwyn Jones handed down a £1,000 fine and ordered the defendant to pay a £400 victim surcharge, as well as £85 costs.

Cartwright was also banned from driving for 30 months.