Driver seen swerving on A55 at Northop was three times the drink-drive limit

The driver of a Mercedes seen veering on the A55 was found to be nearly three times the drink-drive limit.

As Lesley Ann Owen-Edwards left the A55 along a slip road at Northop she was so far over onto the right she nearly went down a grass bank.

The 47-year-old was returning from stables where she had been looking after her horses – and drinking whisky on Sunday, February 19.

Owen-Edwards, of Ffordd Owen, Northop, admitted driving on February 19 when she had 98 microgrammes of alcohol in her breath compared to the legal limit of 35. She was banned from driving for 26 months.

District Judge Gwyn Jones, sitting at Flintshire Magistrates’ Court at Mold, placed her on a 12 month community order and ordered her to carry out 180 hours unpaid work.

She was also ordered to pay £400 costs after she initially pleaded not guilty – and a £85 surcharge.

Wrexham motorist arrested on suspicion of drink, drug and dangerous driving

Owen-Edwards, who represented herself, said she was remorseful and was aware of the impact of her offending. It could have been a lot worse, she said.

But she regarded it as a wake-up call, had since taken steps to address her depression and anxiety and working as a volunteer at kennels had helped her.

Prosecutor Rhian Jackson told how at 10pm that day two police officers followed her car from the Holywell direction towards Northop and saw it veer from side to side.

It swerved in its lane and at the Northop slip road it was so far to the right it almost went down a grass bank.

The vehicle then came to a stop for no apparent reason and after the blue lights were put on it continued for 300 metres.

Asked what was going on, she said she was returning from feeding the horses and a light bulb had gone.

She said she had been distracted by the blue lights but the officer said they had only been on for 30 seconds.

The defendant initially denied she had been drinking – but was arrested when she provided a positive breathtest.

She pleaded not guilty on the basis she claimed she had not been given a statutory warning, but changed her plea to guilty on the day of her trial.