A Street woman who was so drunk behind the wheel of her car that police mistook her condition for a possible stroke has been given a 22-month driving ban.

Qualified nurse Paula Curelarh downed some whiskey before driving home from work and was seen swerving across the middle of the road before clipping the wing mirror of a delivery van coming in the opposite direction.

When she continued to drive erratically, swerving onto the grass verge and then back across the road the witness sounded his horn and she pulled over.

When police were called to the scene they found her slumped across the front two seats and were concerned that she may be experiencing a medical emergency.

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However, when she was taken to hospital it was established she was drunk and blood tests revealed she was two and a half times over the drink-drive limit.

Curelarh, 46, of High Street, pleaded guilty to drink driving at Street on December 17 last year when she appeared before District Judge Angela Brereton, sitting at Yeovil.

Emma Lenanton, prosecuting, said that a male witness was driving his delivery van towards Compton Dundon at 7pm and a car being driven by Curelarh was coming in the opposite direction.

“Her vehicle swerved across the road and collided with the witness’s wing mirror so he turned around and followed the car as it continued to swerve across the road as it headed towards Street,” she said.

“As it came down Slugg Hill it went onto the verge and then crossed the central white lines so the man sounded his horn and the defendant pulled in.

“He thought she was drunk and removed the keys from the ignition telling her he was calling the police and remained with her.

“When the police arrived at 9pm Curelarh was slumped across into the passenger seat and the officers were unsure if she was suffering from a medical emergency, such as a stroke, as she was minimally responsive.”

An ambulance was called and she was taken to hospital where it was confirmed she was not medically ill but was heavily intoxicated.

A blood test taken at 4am, nine hours after the incident, revealed a reading of 201mlg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mlg of alcohol.

When interviewed she made no comment but her solicitor Sam Morton told the court that the defendant had begun drinking to cope with the stress of working during the lockdown.

He said: “She started working in an elderly people’s nursing home throughout lockdown and it was a very difficult time for her.

“She accepts that in the six months leading up to December she started to drink to try and cope and on the day in question she drank some whiskey after work and then drove home.”

He added that she had since got a job working in a warehouse and had also been to see her GP for support.

In handing her the disqualification, District Judge Brereton said that there had clearly been a high level of impairment and a collision had also been involved and added that things could have been much more serious. A £500 fine, £85 costs and a £43 victim surcharge were also imposed.