A sozzled mum who was more than three times the legal drink drive limit when she crashed with her kids in the car has escaped with a fine – of just £50.
Katie McRobert, 45, had drank half a bottle of vodka at Victorian Christmas Fayre event before getting behind the wheel.
She was arrested after she lost control of her black Renault Clio and ploughed into another car.
A breathalyser test showed McRobert had 197 microgrammes of alcohol per 100ml of breath – more than three times the legal limit of 35mcg.
On Monday (18/12) McRobert, of Evesham, Worcs., admitted drink driving and was slapped with a three-year ban and fined £50 at Worcester Magistrates Court.
McRobert was also given a 12-month community order which requires her to complete six months of alcohol treatment and 20 activity days.
She was also fined £50, ordered to pay costs of £135 and a victim surcharge of £85.
The court heard McRobert was arrested following reports of a crash on the A44 in Worcester at around 5pm on December 1.
Prosecutor Kerry Lovegrove said: “Police officers noticed she smelled of alcohol.
“She told them she had drank half a bottle of vodka, and she was an alcoholic.”
Miss Lovegrove said the fact McRobert’s children were in the car at the time was an “aggravating feature of the case”.
The court heard it was the second time McRobert had been in court for drink driving, having been disqualified and given a community order in 2012.
Paul Stanley, defending, said McRobert had been to Worcester’s Victorian Fayre and was returning home when she crashed.
Mr Stanley said she had struggled with alcohol for many years but particularly after the relationship with her ex-husband broke down around five years ago.
He said her children were now in the care of her ex-husband, and said McRobert hadn’t seen them since the day of the offence.
Mr Stanley pointed out that she had been open with officers after the offence, including telling them she did not need a solicitor “because she had done it”.
