[A] woman has appeared before magistrates in Carlisle and pleaded guilty to failing to provide a breath specimen for analysis.
The court was told that on February 26, Mrs Lynette Sarah Barrett, 67, drove from her home in Skirwith to Penrith to catch a bus through to Carlisle for a shopping trip.
During the day she had lunch in the city and a couple of glasses of wine, later in the day she caught the bus back to Penrith to collect her car and drive home.
The court heard how an off-duty police officer witnessed her driving in an “erratic manner”, he contacted the police to explain what he had seen, some time later officers visited her at home, she gave a breathalyser sample and blew above the legal limit, she was taken to the police station and required to give another “evidential” sample of breath, but at the time she was unable to supply a sample, after making two-attempts she failed.
Steven Marsh for Barrett explained to the court she does not drive a lot, mainly from home into Penrith for shopping, her driving is restricted, she could not explain how the two-glasses of wine at lunch-time and one when she arrived home in the late afternoon, led to the alleged reading of over twice the legal limit, she made every reasonable effort to supply a breath sample, but she was also very nervous, the lawyer explained that any erratic driving could be that she was trying to avoid potholes on the country roads.
Mrs Barrett of Kirkland Road, Skirwith was banned from the roads for one-year and fined £230 with court costs of £85 and a £30 victim’s surcharge, a drivers rehabilitation driving course was offered and if she passes this it would reduce her disqualification by 12-weeks.
