A special education needs coordinator has been banned from driving for three years after she blew nearly five times the drink drive limit.
Ilona Thomas, aged 36, pleaded guilty at Plymouth Magistrates' Court to drink driving on the evening March 16.
Prosecutor Gareth Warden told the court how at around 6pm another motorist called police stating that a silver Mercedes car was "swerving all over the road", into and out of bus lanes and through red traffic lights.
The motorist continued to follow the car as they witnessed the worrying Mercedes' movements.
Police eventually traced the car to the registered keepers address in Reservoir Road, Elburton, and found Thomas. The officers did not have a breathalyser and so had to wait for a second squad car to arrive.
The breath test proved positive and Thomas was taken to Charles Cross police station where she tested twice using the intoximeter - the lower reading being 171 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 micrograms per 100 millilitres of breath.
Police were so concerned as to the level of the reading, and that Thomas was of very slight build, that they immediately took her to Derriford Hospital to be medically checked over. They later returned to her home where they viewed home CCTV which showed Thomas arriving at the driveway, colliding with her husband's BMW and sitting in her car for six minutes before exiting.
During interview Thomas said she had been at an event at the Albion Oaks Rugby club in Wembury Road and had drunk a glass of white wine. She said she then drove home to check on her two children. She said she had felt fit to drive. She admitted that when she got home she had another glass of wine and made a sandwich. Asked if she had drunk anything the night before she claimed she had had "no more than a bottle".
The court was told by Mr Warden that Thomas was a Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) which required her to drive across the county for her job.
A Probation Service worker carried out a pre-sentence report and told the court Thomas was genuinely very ashamed at finding herself in court, having been of previous good character.
He noted she still believed her drinking was a lot less than the reading revealed but she accepted she should not have been driving.
He added that Thomas's role as a SENCo came after she took a Master's degree paid for by an educational establishment in the city and felt she was under pressure to consistently perform well, feeling duty-bound to do so due to her employer paying for her additional training.
He explained how her habit of having a couple of glasses of wine had slowly turned into a nightly habit as she continued to carry out her role as both worker and mother. He noted that at one stage during their interview she used the word "functioning" and that she suffered greatly from anxiety. The Probation Service worker also told the court Thomas was the main carer for her children as her husband was a commercial diver who worked abroad much of the time.
The court was told Thomas was "very prepared to address her drinking" and had been extremely anxious after spending two nights in the cells. He recommended magistrates pass a Required Activity Requirement order which would include emotional resilience and addictive behaviour courses.
In mitigation, her advocate Andrea Parsons told the court Thomas was of previous good character and had for the first time had to recognise she has problems regarding alcohol. She said Thomas was "completely ashamed" and feared she would "have to work incredibly hard to keep her job without a [driving] licence.
Magistrates told Thomas that she had recorded "an extremely high level of alcohol" and would, under the guidelines, have faced an immediate custodial sentence. They noted aggravating factors including "evidence of sustained bad driving", the accident "albeit on the driveway" and the high reading.
However, they also noted the mitigation, the early plea and her remorse. She was handed a 12 month community order and must complete 120 hours unpaid work. She was also ordered to complete 20 days Required Activity Requirement. Thomas was also disqualified from driving for three years although she was offered the opportunity to reduce this by undertaking a driver rehabilitation course.
Magistrates also told Thomas they could not reduce their sentence any further, adding that her reading of 171 micrograms was "right at the top" and noting that their guidelines "end at 150 micrograms".
Thomas was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a victim surcharge £115.
