Drink driver spotted on the wrong side of a Sunderland road by police was almost three times the limit

A mum who drove in the wrong lane in front of police in Sunderland while almost three times the limit has been banned from the roads.
Amanda Steel was followed for a short distance and pulled over in Redhill Road, Hylton Red House, when police smelled booze on her breath.Amanda Steel was followed for a short distance and pulled over in Redhill Road, Hylton Red House, when police smelled booze on her breath.
Amanda Steel was followed for a short distance and pulled over in Redhill Road, Hylton Red House, when police smelled booze on her breath.

Amanda Steel’s carriageway blunder was spotted by officers as they set off to another incident in the early house of Friday, May 1.

They then saw Steel, 32, of no fixed abode, pull her Nissan Micra into the correct lane and continue on her way, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

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But she was followed for a short distance and pulled over in Redhill Road, Hylton Red House – and police smelled booze on her breath.

A roadside breath test revealed the delivery firm worker had 92 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35.

The court was told it was Steel’s second alcohol-related driving charge in eight years, after she was banned in 2012 for failing to provide a specimen for analysis.

Prosecutor Paul Anderson said: “It’s about one in the morning when police are on duty.

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“They travel through a red light in response to an incident and as they do, they see the defendant travelling left down a wrong carriageway.

“She was on that for a short period of time and then went on the right side, realising her error.

“She was stopped after a couple of streets. She was clearly drunk and gave a reading of 92microgrammes.

“She has a conviction from 2012 for failing to provide a specimen, so it’s a three-year ban.”

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Jason Smith, defending, said: “The reality of the situation is that she is a different person to who I dealt with in 2012.

“She has moved on with her life. She is a full-time worker and she supports her child by herself.

“She has the additional stress of dealing with her parents. It seems that everything got on top of her on this night.

“She doesn’t accept everything that the police officers say in relation to her driving.”

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District Judge Natalie Wortley told Steel: “This is aggravated by the previous conviction.”

She handed Steel an interim driving ban and adjourned the case for reports ahead of sentencing at the same court on Tuesday, June 30.

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