Drink driver who nearly hit oncoming vehicles after mounting pavement disqualified

Paula Smith was seen mounting the pavement and grass verges, narrowly avoiding oncoming vehicles, between Ely and Little Downham, at about 8.45pm on Thursday, June 6.

Officers from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Road Police Unit were immediately dispatched and caught up with Smith before stopping her outside her home in Lawns Crescent, Little Downham.

A breath test revealed she was almost three times over the legal alcohol limit with a reading of 93ugs.

Smith (55) pleaded guilty to drink driving at Peterborough Magistrates’ Court yesterday (Wednesday). She was handed a community order, disqualified from driving for three years and ordered to pay £250 in costs.

PC Steph Corletto, who investigated, said: “When Smith made the dangerous decision to get behind the wheel while almost three times the legal drink drive limit she risked not only her own life but the lives of all the innocent people around her.

“Thankfully, no one was hurt on this occasion but her lapse of judgement could easily have had fatal consequences.

“There is simply no excuse for drink driving and I hope the sentencing acts as a deterrent to those who become tempted to make the same poor decision while under the influence.”

If you wish to report drink or drug driving, police operate a dedicated, confidential hotline - 0800 032 0845 - which is available 24/7.

For more information about drink driving and the dangers it can cause, visit: www.cambs.police.uk/drinkdrugdriving.