A WOMAN who works as an events manager in Alston has admitted drink driving while she was more than three times the alcohol limit.

Claire Worboys, 49, landed herself in trouble after she crashed her Ford Fiesta beside the A686 near to Harside Cafe on August 22 last year, Carlisle’s Rickergate Magistrates’ Court heard.

Police found her being treated by paramedics. Her car was resting “precariously” next to a roadside ditch, said prosecutor Pam Ward as she outlined the case.

The defendant, of Low Byer Park, Alston, admitted drink driving. Mrs Ward said Worboys had immediately identified herself as the driver of the car and admitted she had been drinking.

A breath test later confirmed she had 114mcg of alcohol in 100mls of breath.

The legal limit for driving is 35mcg. The officers could immediately smell alcohol, and there were two wine bottles in the passenger footwell of the car, said Mrs Ward.

“She does not have any previous convictions and is a lady of good character,” said the prosecutor.

The defendant described her job as “events manager,” and she is currently listed online as the Alston Town Hall manager.

Steven Marsh, for the defendant, said she had suffered from long-term and severe depression and anxiety; and she had been on medication for 20 years. The lawyer said: “She would not describe herself as an alcoholic and she can go for many months without drinking at all.

“But if she does drink, she loses the ability to stop. That’s what happened on this occasion.” On the day in question, she had bought a few bottles of wine as gifts for friends.

She had ended up at the Hartside Café, south west of Alston, and decided to drink the wine rather than pass it on as a gift, said Mr Marsh. Nobody else was involved in the accident.

“She’s very ashamed of this offence and the level of alcohol,” said the lawyer, adding that she was now regularly going to a Penrith support group to tackle her issue with alcohol.

District Judge Gerald Chalk banned the defendant from driving for the next 28 months, but offered Worboys a drink drivers’ rehabilitation course, which will reduce the ban if completed in time.

She must observe an eight week curfew, starting at 10.30pm and finishing at 9am. Worboys must also pay £85 costs and a £90 victim surcharge.