A TAUNTON woman has been given a hefty 40-month driving ban after being caught for her second offence of drink-driving.

Suzanne Long had been partying until the early hours of the morning and then got behind the wheel of her partner’s car for which she wasn’t insured.

Police were on duty when they detected the insurance anomaly and, when they spoke to her, she smelt of booze and failed a breath test at the roadside.

Long, 44, of Dorchester Road, appeared in the dock before Somerset magistrates and pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol and without insurance.

Prosecutor Emma Lenanton said that police were on patrol in Ford Street, Wellington, on August 12 when their automatic number plate recognition equipment flagged up that Long was not insured as they drove past.

“She was stopped and, when they spoke to the defendant, she smelt of alcohol and failed a breath test,” she said.

“She was arrested and taken into custody, where further tests revealed a reading of 55mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath. The legal limit is 35mcg of alcohol.”

Miss Lenanton added that Long had previous convictions for drink-driving and no insurance and was therefore liable for a minimum ban of three years.

Defending solicitor Jeffrey Bannister said the car Long was driving that day belonged to her partner, and she wrongly thought that she was insured to drive it.

“The night before, they went to a party and she was drinking until the early hours of the morning,” he said.

“When she set off at midday she believed she would have been below the legal limit, but unfortunately she got that wrong and is very embarrassed about what happened.”

Alongside the disqualification, the magistrates fined Long £120 for drink-driving with £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge. No separate penalty was imposed for the insurance offence.