A mum-of-two drunkenly drove into the path of police officers after escaping a blazing row with her ex-partner.
Niki Taylor was almost five times the legal limit when she was stopped on South Ward Road after a night out in Dundee city centre.
The 37-year-old had been out with friends but the night turned sour when her ex-partner appeared at the bar where they had been drinking.
Taylor then got into her car and drove a short distance to the city’s nightclub hotspots – where she was quickly stopped by police.
Prosecutor Jill Drummond told Dundee Sheriff Court: “At 1.10am, officers saw the vehicle driven at the locus. The reason for stopping was due to apparent damage to the front nearside wheel.
“The accused was asked to give a specimen of breath and thereafter arrested.”
Taylor, of Mossgiel Crescent, pleaded guilty to driving with 97 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, exceeding the limit of 22 microgrammes, on March 1 on South Ward Road.
Defence solicitor Anika Jethwa said Taylor works as an administrator for a design company and annually travels to shows in Stirling, Manchester and London as part of her work.
She said that Taylor had no intention of driving at all during the night out but got into the car after storming away from her former partner.
Ms Jethwa added that Taylor was concerned about how the conviction would impact on her employment.
“She has never been in trouble before and has been worried sick about this,” Ms Jethwa said.
“She had gone for a quiet drink with her friends and she had her ex-partner come into the bar. There had been a serious argument, it became physical and she stormed off and got into the car.
“She drove to Liquid nightclub which was highly populated by the police so there was no way that she was going to get away with it.
“She is concerned about providing for her children and paying her mortgage.”
When passing sentence, Sheriff Way said: “It’s a high reading and she made the decision late at night having been at the pub after an altercation.
“It does show a considerable lack of judgement.”
Taylor was disqualified from driving for 15 months and fined £350.
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