And finally… driven to drink

Sylvia Minicking, 67, was pulled over by officers after driving erratically on her way to the supermarket.

They found she was three times the legal limit with 251 mgs of alcohol in her blood.

However, she told South Tyneside Magistrates Court she merely drank the bottle of wine before getting in her car so she could make the recycling pick-up.

Janice Bellamy, prosecuting, said: “At 9.30am on July 15, police were alerted to a Fiat Punto being driven erratically on Boldon Lane, in South Shields.

“They arrived at the Lidl car park and saw the defendant put her shopping in the car and drive off.

“They stopped her on Stanley Street and she gave a positive breath test.”

Her defence solicitor, Kevin Smallcombe, told the court: “Sometimes in this court you come across people who don’t fit the usual criteria. She is a lady of 67, with no previous convictions.

“She is a thoroughly nice lady with a nice family who got herself in a right pickle.

“She accepts she was over the limit. She accepts she has been drinking more than she ought to.”

He added: “There had been a bottle of wine left and the rubbish collection was due so she decided to finish it off.

“She knows it was wrong and foolish to do that.”

Ms Minicking told the court: “I’m sorry. I’ve not had a drink of wine since. It’s a wake-up call.”

After admitting to drink-driving she was fined £383 and banned from driving for just over two years.