A motorist lost her appeal against a drink-driving ban after trying to claim her mother’s spaghetti bolognese laced with red wine put her over the limit.
Amy Shingles, 23, appealed to the crown court after being fined and banned from driving but the unsuccessful decision to challenge her punishment yesterday cost her £2,000 – and the ban remained.
The former Waitrose employee had been caught in her Audi TT car parked in the middle of the road – on double white lines.
Amy Shingles (left and right), 23, appealed to the crown court after being fined and banned from driving but the unsuccessful decision to challenge her punishment yesterday cost her £2,000 – and the ban remained
Officers arrested her after finding the sports car in the carriageway on London Road, Ascot, Berkshire. A breath-test showed she was over the limit.
Shingles appeared before magistrates in Reading, Berkshire, on August 14 where she admitted drink-driving and was banned from driving for 12 months.
The young woman, from Woodcote Place, Ascot, decided to appeal against the ban and took her case before Judge Ian Grainger and two magistrates at Reading Crown Court.
She told the court that she had been put over the drink-driving limit by the alcohol in a spaghetti bolognese meal cooked earlier for her by her mother.
Shingles told the court that she had been put over the drink-driving limit by the alcohol in a spaghetti bolognese meal cooked earlier for her by her mother
However, the court heard that she had also drunk two pints of beer. The breath test showed that she had 44 microgrammes of slcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
In addition to the disqualification, she was also ordered to pay a £403 fine and a victim surcharge of £40 plus court costs of £1,583.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: ‘On April 7 at 11.45pm Shingles was located by police officers after her car, an Audi TT, was parked in the middle of London Road, Ascot, on double white lines..
‘She pleaded guilty to drink-driving but claimed she had consumed a quantity of wine in a spaghetti bolognese that she had for dinner which put her over the limit after then consuming two pints of beer.
‘Both magistrates and crown courts rejected this claim,’ added the spokesman.
Police constable Tom Dorman, based at Windsor police station, said: ‘Shingles claimed that her mother had caused her to consume alcohol as part of a meal she prepared which put her over the limit, a fact the courts did not accept.
‘She admitted consuming two pints before driving.
‘This case shows drink-driving will not be tolerated by Thames Valley Police or the courts and there will be consequences for those who break the law.’
In addition to the disqualification, she was also ordered to pay a £403 fine and a victim surcharge of £40 plus court costs of £1,583