A driver in dressing gown stopped by police after a crash and found to have an axe under her seat

A driver who crashed while in her dressing gown and with an axe under the passenger seat has avoided being jailed.
The case was heard at South Tyneside Law Courts.The case was heard at South Tyneside Law Courts.
The case was heard at South Tyneside Law Courts.

Michelle McDermott, 38, of Grasmere Crescent, Shiney Row, got behind the wheel a day after being knocked unconscious, a court was told.

She woke the next morning, on Friday, June 5, to find a costly item of jewellery had vanished from her possession – and set out to find it.

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On the way, she crashed her Ford Focus near Penshaw, with a witness alerting police to a suspected drink-driver, South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court heard.

McDermott has now been handed an 18-week sentence, suspended for a year, after pleading guilty to possession of a bladed article in relation to the axe.

At an earlier hearing, she also admitted failing to provide a specimen for analysis and possession of Class B drug cannabis.

Prosecutor Lesley Burgess said: “Police were told a driver was possibly under the influence of something, and that she had driven away.

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“Soon after, and going towards Shiney Row, the police see a Ford Focus with substantial front end damage.

“Part of the vehicle was touching the floor and they believed it had been involved in an accident.

“They called out to her to stop and she did not stop. She did slow down. They got out on foot and said, ‘Stop’.

“The car revved its engine and mounts the curb and goes around the officers, but then it stopped.”

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Ms Burgess added: “She was highly agitated and wearing her dressing gown. She was placed in the back of the police vehicle.

“It’s then that they search her vehicle and find an axe under the passenger seat. They find cannabis on her at the station.

“She said that she was diabetic, but that’s no reason for not giving a blood sample.”

Jason Smith, defending, told the court: “An incident has happened the night before. She was rendered unconscious by actions taken upon herself.

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“She woke up the next day to find a very expensive piece of jewellery is missing. Michelle has got into her vehicle.

“She gets in her car and drives to find out who has taken her chain. She accepts the accident, she accepts the driving.

“What she says about the axe is that it was left in the vehicle by her partner.

“She knew it was there and knew it should have been removed, but she did drive the vehicle.”

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Mr Smith said McDermott suffered mental health issues, adding: “She’s not a lady who is heavily convicted.

“The reason she failed to provide was not because she was affected by anything.

“It was because a family member was recently diagnosed with hepatitis C, which came from a needle.

“The needle at the police station was taken out and put onto a dirty counter. She shied away from that.”

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Sentencing McDermott, magistrates also banned her from driving for 12 months and ordered her to complete 20 days of rehabilitation work with the Probation Service.

She must pay a £128 victim surcharge and £100 court costs.

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