A Fife woman seen staggering to her car with a bottle of vodka was warned by a judge she faced disaster without help for her alcohol problem.
Joanna August could be jailed after twice being caught driving while more than six times over the alcohol limit.
Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist QC gave her three months to engage with support services before he sentences her.
He said he did not want to jail the mother but told her: “It really is essential that you engage with alcohol treatment. If you don’t do that your life is going to fall apart disastrously.”
August, 36, of Bonnybank, admitted drink-driving in Bishops Court, Kennoway, on October 19 and in Park Place, Kirkcaldy, on January 6.
On the first occasion a roadside breath test gave a reading of 138 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The second time her reading was 133 microgrammes. The legal limit is 22.
August was seen staggering between parked cars to her own car after buying a bottle of vodka from a nearby shop.
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Stunned onlookers began to film her on their mobile phones after seeing her swig from the bottle as she sat in the driver’s seat of the Vauxhall Zafira.
Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court previously heard she attempted to manoeuvre out of the parking bay but struck another vehicle and came to a stop in the middle of the car park.
Police officers were alerted and noticed a strong smell of alcohol coming from August when they arrived.
She was only four days away from being sentenced for the first offence when August was caught the second time.
She also pled guilty to driving without insurance but her not guilty plea to driving while disqualified was accepted by the Crown.
Her solicitor David Bell said August, who he said had a significant drink problem, had made an appointment with the Drug and Alcohol Project Ltd and also intended to seek help from Fife Alcohol Support Services.
August remains disqualified from driving in the interim until she returns to court in May.
