An Angus woman who drove into her neighbour’s garage produced a “stratospheric” alcohol level in a breath test.
Susan Simpson from Montrose appeared at Forfar Sheriff Court and admitted drink-driving on October 3 last year.
The court heard the 42-year-old reversed out of her Newmanwalls Avenue drive to let her partner park there, only to accelerate into next door’s drive.
She gave a reading of 138 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit was 35mics.
Sheriff Gregor Murray said the recording was “stratospheric” considering it was taken by police hours after the incident.
Depute fiscal Jill Drummond said two witnesses saw Simpson reverse from her drive at 6.20pm, and saw her drive forward into the garage. This cracked one of its walls and displaced a “large section” of masonry.
They saw the accused then trying to put car in reverse, and they approached. Simpson had her head in her hands, resting on the steering wheel.
The witnesses took the keys from her and told her to leave the car and one walked her into the house.
Police attended and she failed a roadside breath test at 7.05pm before being taken to the police station in Arbroath.
She was given a full test at 9pm, which produced the 138mics recording.
Simpson was thereafter cautioned and charged, to which she replied: “I’m sorry”.
Defending Simpson, solicitor Nick Markowski said his client had no previous convictions and works in social care.
He added that she was suffering from depression at the time of the offence.
He said: “Subsequent to this she sought assistance … and was prescribed anti-anxiety medication.”
Sheriff Murray told Simpson: “The only reason I can deal with this today is that you drove a very short distance. The reading is stratospherically high goodness knows what it would have been at the time you hit the garage.”
Simpson was disqualified from driving for 25 months and fined £400.