A mum who had just driven her son to school blew the highest alcohol reading three magistrates had ever seen after she was spotted swerving all over the road.
Rachel Sullivan's breath test was almost six times the legal limit when she was tested at 9.25am, Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court was told.
The 42-year-old, of Littleover, was challenged by a fellow driver who witnessed her swerving between lanes and then smelling of booze when they stopped in traffic and they went to speak to her, Derbyshire Live reports.
Even after blowing the astonishing reading of 194, a second evidential test at the police station saw her blow 169, still five times the limit.
In an interview she told police she dropped her son off in Mickleover then went home and finished the rest of a bottle of wine she had started the night before, then got back behind the wheel to go to work.
Handing her a six-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, Magistrate Margaret Tate said: "My colleague and I have listened to everything that has been said on your behalf and frankly we were shocked at the reading you gave.
"We have never heard of such a high reading in the court before.
"You drove with a child in the car, there was poor driving, you put yourself in danger, you put other people in danger and you parked outside a school.
"Without doubt this has passed the custodial threshold."
Nicole Baughan, prosecuting, said another driver spotted a black Ford Focus being driven by Sullivan at around 9.25am on September 23, this year.
She said the witness described the car "being driven erratically, swerving into the left hand lane, back to the right hand lane and back again".
The prosecutor said: "The traffic came to a stop and the (witness) approached the vehicle and could smell alcohol on [the defendant's] breath and telephoned the police.
"When the police arrived Miss Sullivan was sitting in the driver's seat and failed a roadside breath test when she blew 194 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit is 35.
"She was taken into custody and gave an evidential reading on the intoxilyzer of 169.
"In interview she said she had been drinking wine the previous evening had taken her son to school and then finished the rest of the bottle of wine."
The defendant, of Gary Close, pleaded guilty to drink-driving and has no previous convictions.
In her probation interview she told the author of her pre-sentence report how she lost her mother five years ago and thought she had coped well but was then further affected by the break-up of a relationship around a year ago.
That officer told the court she had "concerns about her honesty" in terms of how much alcohol Sullivan admitted to drinking.
She said: "I asked her why she had driven her son to school and she said the reason was she thought she was okay to drive having slept and drank coffee the next morning."
Felicity Coates, mitigating, said her client works as a secretary and accounts assistant at a local company and felt "shaky and anxious" at the prospect of being sent to prison.
She said: "It is an extremely high reading and the circumstances are sad.
"Clearly this is going to cause her some issues, the press are in court which no doubt means she's going to be in the paper and that is going to be heartbreaking for her."
As part of the suspended sentence order, Sullivan was ordered to attend 20 rehabilitation sessions and a six-month alcohol treatment programme.
She was disqualified from driving for three years and was ordered to pay £239 in court costs and charges.
