A mother who was found almost four times the drink-drive limit after being caught asleep at the wheel has escaped with a ban and a fine after claiming she had only started drinking heavily when she parked her car to watch a movie on Netflix.
Jessica Matthew, 26, was found in a retail park slumped and unconscious in the driver's seat with the engine still running by shoppers who feared she had suffered a fatal collapse.
But as police arrived at the scene, travel agent Matthew started to wake up and when quizzed was slurring her words and complaining of feeling dizzy. Officers also noticed a bottle of gin and tonic on the passenger seat of her hatchback car.
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A subsequent breath test showed Matthew had 136 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
At Tameside magistrates court in Greater Manchester, Matthew, of Links View, Rochdale, who has a two year old son, admitted being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle but insisted she had not been driving it whilst drunk.
She said had been watching a movie on her phone and blacked out whilst 'binging gin and tonic' after a 'stressful day at work'. In a statement, Matthew said: ''When I drink I can’t stop drinking."
She was fined £200 with £165 in costs and was ordered to pay a victim surcharge. She was banned from driving for 12 months.
The incident occurred on July 15 after Matthew had stopped at Sandbrook Retail Park in Rochdale whilst on her break from her job as an assistant manager at Hay’s Travel.
Ms Shazad Aslam, prosecuting, told the court: "The defendant said she was stressed from work and drove her vehicle to Sandbrook where she attempted to watch a film on her phone and have a drink.
''But at around 5.45pm that evening, witness Nicole McArthur noticed the defendant sleeping in her small hatchback with her head resting on the wheel. She noticed she wasn’t moving at first and thought she wasn’t breathing and so became concerned.
"Miss MacArthur tried to speak to the defendant and banged on the car window a number of times to no avail. The car engine was on and the defendant was wearing her seatbelt.
"Upon noticing this, MacArthur and a few others tried to shake the car and make loud noises in an attempt to wake her up. One of the witnesses called the emergency services but the defendant had woken up before they arrived.
''When questioned by the police, Matthew’s voice was slurring and she complained of being dizzy but fine and that she 'had just fallen asleep'.
''A PC Hall, who was the first to interview Matthew, noticed the bottle of gin and tonic laying next to her in the car and arrested her for being in charge of a vehicle while over the alcohol limit.''
Matthew had no previous convictions. Her lawyer Vic Wozny, said: ''In her seven years of driving, she has not clocked up one conviction or offence whilst on the roads. Her intention was not to drive the vehicle whilst drunk and the vehicle was only on so she could charge her phone whilst watching a film on her phone.
"The alcohol was already in her vehicle as she has had a recent difficulty with drink. She has previously been to rehab but each time it did not work and returned to the drink.
"She is now seeking help from three organisations to recover from her drinking problem. She has shown full remorse throughout."
Matthew appeared in the dock with her leg in plaster and using crutches after an unrelated incident. The court heard her injury meant that she could no longer work and has become dependent on universal credit and her father, who accompanied her to court.
The sentencing magistrates told Matthew: "We have thought about this long and hard and given your previous good character, the kind of work you have done up to this point and your personal circumstances we do not deem it necessary to give you a community sentence.
"We are glad that you have good support from your father and the organisations that are helping you to change. However, if this ever happens again you won’t get a second chance.''
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