Single mother, 26, is banned from the roads for driving three times over the limit as judge said she could ‘barely walk straight let alone drive straight’ after bingeing on gin and tonic
- Hayley Hughes, 26, was found to be nearly three times over the alcohol limit
- Police spotted her on December 29 in a Mini Cooper with exhaust hanging off
- Hughes received 150 hours of unpaid work and has to repay court costs of £175
A single mother was today banned from the roads for driving three times over the limit as a judge said she could ‘barely walk straight let alone drive straight’ after bingeing on gin and tonic.
Hayley Hughes, 26, was found to be nearly three times over the alcohol limit after police spotted her Mini Cooper with the exhaust hanging off and a faulty rear headlight at 3:15am on December 29.
The single mother, from Stretford in Greater Manchester, admitted to officers: ‘Breathalyse me but I will definitely fail’ after she announced she had drunk a lot of gin.
Hayley Hughes, 26, was found to be nearly three times over the alcohol limit after police spotted her Mini Cooper with the exhaust hanging off and a faulty rear headlight at 3:15am on December 29
Tests showed she had 100 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath – the legal drink drive limit being 35mg. She was also seen stumbling around on the pavement and slurring her words during the incident.
At Manchester magistrates’ court, Hughes, who regularly posts pictures of herself riding her horse in Facebook, admitted drink driving and driving without insurance. She was disqualified from driving for two years.
She was also ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work.
Prosecuting Kate Draper, said: ‘At around 3am on Sunday, December 29, officers in Fallowfield where driving on Wilmslow road. They saw a vehicle had a defective rear tail light and it also appeared to have a faulty exhaust.
‘They stopped the vehicle and officers could smell intoxicants and she admitted to officers that she had had a lot of gin that evening. She was stumbling on the pavement and was quite upset.
The single mother, who is a keen horsewoman, admitted to officers: ‘Breathalyse me but I will definitely fail’ after she announced she had drunk a lot of gin
‘She was slurring her words and said “breathalyse me but I will definitely fail”. Her eyes appeared to be glazed and began to stumble.
‘The lowest reading was 100mg. There is nothing from officers in relation to her manner of driving and she was alone at the time. This is quite a high reading.’
Hughes, who is mother to a five-year-old daughter, was said to be slurring her words and unable to walk in a straight line.
Mitigating defence lawyer Jane Shaw, said: ‘She is a single parent and there are no issues identified here.
‘A curfew isn’t suitable here as she has joint custody of her five-year-old child. The most suitable element is unpaid work which is something she is fine to do.
‘She’s claiming universal credit and she needs some financial stability because she is a parent.’
Sentencing District Judge James Hatton, told Hughes: ‘You could barely walk straight, let alone drive straight.
‘You were significantly over the alcohol limit and it is very fortunate that you haven’t injured yourself or other road users because of the state of your intoxication and the level of your intoxication.
‘It was a very poor judgement call on your behalf. Because of your guilty plea and previous good character you have the opportunity of completing a drink drive awareness course.’
Hughes was also ordered to pay court costs of £175.