Sutton boozer drove into car carrying three kids

A Sutton woman who downed cider and wine before she hit a car containing three young children has been told to tackle her alcoholism, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Maxine Walton’s Peugeot 206 drove into the back of the car at traffic lights on Lammas Road, at 4.30pm, on July 7.

A test revealed she had 151 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath when the legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Prosecutor Daniel Pietryka said the car contained children aged seven months, six and nine-years-old.

“She told police she was alcohol dependent and drank a large amount on a daily basis,” he said.

The court heard she drank two cans of Strongbow at 11am, and two glasses of wine with a friend before 1.30pm, after eight cans of cider the previous night.

The court heard she was banned for 32 months for drink driving by Nottingham magistrates, in 2010, when she was given a community order with an alcohol treatment programme.

Walton, 49, of High Street, Stanton Hill, admitted driving with excess alcohol when she appeared at Mansfield Magistrates Court, on Monday.

Probation officer Greta Percival said Walton believed her body had become accustomed to drinking heavily after 20 years, and she had not been honest during the previous treatment order.

She said Walton was a qualified teacher, who now worked as a cleaner at a doctor’s surgery, who suffered from depression following a family tragedy.

Ian Pridham, mitigating, said Walton had been in denial about her drinking.

“No damage was caused in the accident but it has been a salient lesson,” he said.

She was banned for 60 months, but was offered a drink drive rehabilitation course which will reduce the disqualification by a quarter if it is completed in a set time.

She was sentenced to four months in prison, suspended for four months. She must attend a six month alcohol treatment programme with 15 days of a rehabilitation activity.

Walton must also pay £85 costs and a £115 victim surcharge.

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