Driving ban for Sutton on Sea woman in control of ‘vehicle parked in the middle of the road, with an open vodka bottle’

A woman seen with an open vodka bottle after her car had stopped in the middle of the road has lost her driving licence.

Fifty-year-old Susan Bedford failed to provide a breath test for police when they approached her vehicle at Brickyard Lane, Trusthorpe, a court was told.

As a result she has received a ban from the roads and been ordered to pay £365.

“Police received a report of a vehicle parked in the middle of the road, with an open vodka bottle in the vehicle,” said prosecutor Tosin Abioye, relaying the incident, which took place at 7.42pm.

“The driver’s speech was slurred and she failed to provide a specimen at the roadside and at Skegness custody.”

Bedford, of Surfside, Sutton on Sea, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis when she appeared before Boston magistrates on Monday (February 3).

In defence, Mike Alexander said his client was coming to terms with a split from her partner and had drunk ‘a little bit from the bottle of vodka’.

“She was very emotional and accepts she had something to drink but wasn’t intoxicated,” he added.

“She says she was so frightened she started rambling. She was so hyped up, that was not slurred speech.

“There are also medical reasons she was unsteady on her feet, she had 12 months in a wheel chair and after that had to walk with crutches.”

Mr Alexander added the vehicle had come to a halt as it was an automatic hire car, which the defendant was struggling to drive.

The defence also stated that Bedford ‘hasn’t drunk since the incident’ on January 10, and was receiving support from friends and her current partner, who has moved from Coventry to be close to her.

A probation report said the defendant - who suffers with back problems and receives benefits - felt she would have been ‘likely over the limit but not excessively’.

Bedford was banned from driving for 18 months, which could be reduced by 18 weeks if she completes a drink-drive rehabilitation course.

She was also fined £200 and ordered to pay £85 costs and an £80 victim surcharge.