A grandmother has been spared a jail sentence for her fourth conviction for drink-driving after telling a court she turned to the bottle to cope with a severe bout of loneliness.
Alison Maher, 50, a former senior supervisor for an aerospace firm, was found to be more than three times the alcohol limit at 11.20am after she drove 13 miles to see friends.
She later admitted she had been 'eight out of 10 drunk'.
Police were alerted by another motorist who dialled 999 and gave a running commentary as they saw Maher's Kia Sorrento being driven on the wrong side of the road before mounting a grass verge on a country lane.
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Officers arrived to find the Kia parked partially in a lay-by with the rest of the vehicle sticking out into the road. A quarter full bottle of white wine was discovered on the passenger seat.
Tests showed horse-loving Maher had 119 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg. Enquiries revealed she had previous driving with excess alcohol convictions from 1999, 2008 and 2016.
At Stockport magistrates court, Maher admitted her fourth drink driving offence but was given eight weeks imprisonment, suspended for 12 months, after she said he had hit the bottle following five years of being teetotal when she felt 'isolated' due to having to move away from her family in a house swap.
The incident occurred on January 7 after the unnamed motorist called police whilst following Maher, of Marriott Place, Chinley, Derbyshire, on the outskirts of Prestbury, near Macclesfield.
Prosecutor Mr Robin Lynch said: "The motorist suspected the driver may be driving whilst under the influence of drink or drugs. They described how the driver was driving very erratically and was driving on the opposite side of the road.
''They described how the driver mounted a verge before coming to a stop. The member of the public then went to see the defendant and described how she was incoherent. The car was half parked in the lay-by and the other half in the road.
“There was a quarter of a bottle of wine left on the passenger seat. The defendant later told police things had taken a turn for the worse for her.
"She had been sober but since moving away from her family, she had started drinking again. She said she thought her driving was okay but she drank a large amount of wine from the wine bottle in the passenger seat and described herself as being 8/10 drunk.''
A background report compiled by a probation officer said: “Unfortunately, the defendant had moved away from her family following a house exchange. In the early hours of that morning, she had some anxiety due to feeling isolated and did turn to drink.
''She was on her way to the stables and then purchased another bottle of wine after being at the farm. She decided to visit someone in Hazel Grove and took the back roads.
"Due to it snowing, she panicked, pulled over and drank more wine. On the morning, she thought she would be able to drive but after pulling over she admits she would have been at excess levels for drink driving.
"She accepts what she has done and is ashamed of herself. She is ashamed her alcohol issues have affected many relationships.
"She accepted she was putting other road users at risk and there would have been a possibility of an accident.
"She wishes she had stayed at home. She turned to drink to help with the isolation. She has sold the car and is adamant that she will not drive again. She wants help and apologises to the court for her behaviour. She is extremely remorseful."
Maher's lawyer Anthony Derbyshire said: “This is a lady who has a long-standing illness relating to alcohol dependency. This first stems back to the 1990s when she was in a mentally abusive relationship.
"Later, she went to live with her grandmother who she cared for, but she then lost her grandmother and that escalated her reliance with alcohol, and she has struggled to get back on top of that.
"She managed to get sober but alcohol became an issue again when she had to give up her three-bedroom property in Marple where she had a support network around her. However, due to bedroom tax, she found herself not able to afford to live in Marple and she was forced to move to Chinley in May 2021.
''From September 2021, she found she was becoming withdrawn, and her mental health started deteriorating again due to her feeling isolated. It was then that alcohol started to drip back into her life.
“On the day in question, she was having a very low mood day. She had a horse and had gone to attend to it and was then was due to go out and see a friend. But she made the decision to drive having already consumed alcohol and she bitterly regrets that decision. She has now disposed of her car and sold that so there is no temptation to drive at all.
“She is ashamed she had taken to alcohol again after a period of abstinence. This is a lady who needs help and support in her battle against her alcohol illness.”
Maher was also ordered to complete a three-month alcohol treatment programme, ten rehabilitation requirement days and was banned from driving for four years and four months. She was also ordered to pay £213 in costs and surcharges.
The chair of the bench, JP Lynn Bennison, told her: "We have looked at the aggravating features of this case, you brought yourself to the attention of a member of the public whilst driving after you had drank alcohol. You drank alcohol whilst in the vehicle and have previous convictions for similar driving offences and the distance you drove.
''We have been told that you are alcohol dependant but you were five years sober at one stage. You have assessed support with your drink and the crisis team for your mental health. You have support from your family, have shown remorse and disposed of your car. This offence was so serious that the custody threshold has been passed but we are going to suspend it."
