Drink driver fined and banned after crashing car outside police station in Sunderland

Alanah Armstrong, 33, prompted an immediate response from officers who heard the smash and rushed into Dairy Lane to investigate.

They found Armstrong, of Lindon Grove, Houghton-le-Spring, at the wheel of her white Nissan Micra, and the engine still running.

A roadside breath test for alcohol at 2.10am on Saturday, January 18, gave a reading of 82mcg, against a legal limit of 35mcg.

But her recorded alcohol level had jumped to 96mcg by the time of an evidential test after her arrest.

On her way into custody, she admitted she had consumed a bottle of red and a bottle of rosé .

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, Armstrong pleaded guilty to drink driving and was disqualified from driving for 23 months.

Prosecutor Paul Coulson said: “Officers were in the front car park of the police station when they heard a ‘crash’ sound.

“An officer ran to the end of the car park and saw a vehicle in the middle of the road.

“The car’s lights were on, and the car began to turn. Another officer came driving out of the police station to where the defendant’s car was.

“They found Ms Armstrong in the driver’s seat and the engine still running.

“An officer spoke to Ms Armstrong, who was extremely upset and tearful about what had happened.

“Her eyes were glazed, and she smelled of intoxicated liquor. A breath test was failed.

“When transported into custody, she said she had had a bottle of red and a bottle of rosé, which police took to mean two bottles of wine.”

Annalisa Moscardini, defending Armstrong, who has no previous convictions, said: “This is the first time she has been to court, and it will be the last.

“I do know there have been awful things she has dealt with over the past few years. One night, she drank too much. She slipped once.

“You have to take this in the context of what she has done with her life. She has never been in trouble before.”

Magistrates also fined Armstrong £200, with £85 court costs and an £80 victim surcharge.