A WOMAN who had driven halfway between Plymouth and Maidstone following an argument with a friend was found to be drink driving after she crashed her car into a ditch near South Petherton.

Esther Smith had already travelled over 100 miles when she lost control of her vehicle and called the police herself as her car was suspended over a ditch.

When an officer helped her out from the vehicle he noticed she was unsteady on her feet and smelt of alcohol.

After being arrested she was breathalysed and found to be over the drink drive limit, Somerset Magistrates were told.

Smith, 31, of Culpepper Road, Cox Heath, Maidstone, pleaded guilty to driving a Fiat car on the A303 at South Petherton on August 17 after consuming excess alcohol.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said that the defendant called the police herself at 2am saying she had crashed her car into a ditch and they arrived at the location.

“They found her sitting in the driver’s seat with the keys in the ignition and the vehicle was suspended over a ditch so they assisted her out,” she said.

“They could see she was unsteady on her feet and smelt of alcohol so she was arrested and taken to Bridgwater police station.”

Once there a breath test was conducted which revealed a reading of 59mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol.

She admitted the offence during interview but the court heard the aggravating feature was that she was on her way back to Maidstone in Kent after leaving her friend’s address in Plymouth before the crash occurred, a distance of around 250 miles.

Defending herself, Smith told the court that she was very sorry for the offence and said she had been visiting her friend in Plymouth when they had a few drinks and then they argued so she decided to drive home.

“I misjudged the road and crashed into the ditch and then called the police and was shocked to find out I was over the limit when I was breathalysed,” she said.

Smith said the inevitable disqualification would impact upon her job and she now realised that she should have got a taxi back and stayed overnight at a hotel instead of driving home.

“I want to reassure the court that it will never happen again,” she added.

The magistrates banned Smith from driving for 16 months and fined her £369 with £85 costs and a £3 victim surcharge.