A hard drinking mum has been ordered to wear an electronic 'sobriety tag' after she drove her uninsured Audi 4x4 whilst three times the alcohol limit as she took two young children home from a weekend lunch.
Rhian Hughes, 41, failed a breath and blood test after consumed two glasses of cider at a daytime event just hours after she enjoyed a Prosecco binge with friends the previous evening.
She drove her uninsured Audi 4x4 on the way back from a weekend lunch with her two young children in the vehicle, aged nine and five, as well as a family friend.
Police said the mum-of-two, described as "heavily intoxicated" by police, became argumentative with officers when she was pulled over for tailgating an off-duty special constable and there was "no real attempt to provide a breath specimen"..
Hughes appeared at Crewe Magistrates Court where she was ordered her to wear the sobriety tag as a punishment that it was heard will "affect her social life".
A breath test showed Hughes had 112 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath - the legal limit being 35mg - whilst a subsequent blood test showed she had 224 milligrams of alcohol in 100ml of blood in her system.
The legal limit in blood is 80mg.
Further investigations also showed that the insurance on the flash Q3 TDI SE vehicle had lapsed.
At the magistrates court, the 41-year-old was ordered to abstain from alcohol for 120 days under the terms of an alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement.
She has also been forced to wear a tag which will take alcohol readings from her sweat every 30 minutes, where the results will be relayed to the authorities via a computer base unit placed in her home.
The incident occurred at 3pm on July 9, 2020, after Hughes, who has another child aged 17, was seen driving erratically along the A50 in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire.
In prosecution, Miss Stephanie Fanello said that around 2.44pm police were called by an off-duty special constable, Mr King.
He said that the "defendant had been tailgating him and swerving all over the road."
Miss Fanello continued to say: "He said the defendant was heavily intoxicated and had two children in the car. He said she was slurring her words and unsteady on her feet.
"Officers arrived and confirmed that the defendant was unsteady on her feet, her eyes were glazed and she was slurring her words.
"While at the roadside, she became volatile and argumentative with the officers. She was clearly drunk, acting disorderly, swearing and stumbling around and wasn't fit for driving a motor vehicle."
She said that an officer attempted to make sure Hughes stayed close to the police, but she became "confrontational" and began to "walk away, throwing her arms up in the air."
It also came to light from the onboard police national computer that the mum was driving uninsured.
Hughes was requested to provide a breath test at the roadside, where the reading was 112 micrograms.
The prosecutor said that she was then taken into custody to provide further breath tests, but "there was no real attempt to provide a breath specimen. She sealed her mouth around the testing apparatus but did not actually blow."
"As such, a further blood testing procedure was undertaken and the result was 224 micrograms. This offence was aggravated by the children in the car at the time," Miss Fanello added.
A probation report outlined that Hughes had been "with friends on Friday when they drank a number of bottles of Prosecco between them. She went to an event on Saturday and unfortunately had topped up with a couple of glasses of cider.
"That is why the reading is as high as it had been and why she did not consider herself too drunk to drive."
It said that she "did not realise she was over the limit" and despite having two children in the car, "did not realise that she was still intoxicated".
An electronic 'sobriety tag' will now "teach" the mum-of-two that "she can go without alcohol", the report added.
"At some point she is going to get her licence back and she will need to control her drinking. The device will also be a punishment as it will affect her social life. But in the future it will be of benefit to her."
Solicitor Jo Corbett, representing Hughes, said she had not realised how much alcohol would still have been in her system from the day before, and how the reading would have totted up when she drank again.
"She is very remorseful for her actions," Miss Corbett said, adding: "She says she did not give it a great deal of thought. Had she known how high the reading was she would not certainly not have driven, especially when there were children in the car. She is very remorseful for her actions."
Regarding the confrontation with the police at the road's side, Miss Corbett said Hughes was trying to get the children away from the car and into the shade due to it being a hot day.
Hughes was also sentenced to a 12-month community order with requirements that she undertakes 200 hours of unpaid work.
She was also banned from driving for 28 months and made to pay £234 in costs and a victim surcharge.
Chairwoman Dr Gwyneth Edwards told her: "We are looking at this case as being very serious. It was a very high reading, the manner of driving was very bad, you were swerving on the road and tailgating. A member of the public was so concerned that he had to stop you himself.
"Police and this member of the public both said you were slurring your words and unsteady on your feet. Your behavior was so bad when police arrived you had to be restrained. Two children were in your car and you have a previous conviction for excess alcohol while in charge of a vehicle. You did not cooperate with the breath test at the custody suite and you were driving without insurance.
"You are to cooperate with the alcohol abstinence monitoring requirement for 120 days. The equipment takes account of any alcohol you take. You will be brought back into court if it happens."
Hughes had a previous conviction from 2014 for being in charge of a vehicle with excess alcohol for which she received a fine.
