Mum caught drink-driving in Sunderland after boyfriend kicked her out following argument

A mum was caught drink-driving 100 miles from home after being kicked out by her Sunderland boyfriend following a row.
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Nichola Hampshire, 44, found herself and her belongings booted out onto the streets after they argued at his home.

Hampshire, of Valley Crescent, Wrenthorpe, Wakefield, West Yorks, drove from the scene on Saturday, August 21, a court heard.

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But the man tipped off police that she had been boozing and was driving, leading to officers being put on alert.

The woman suspected her boyfriend had reported her, so pulled over when she saw police.The woman suspected her boyfriend had reported her, so pulled over when she saw police.
The woman suspected her boyfriend had reported her, so pulled over when she saw police.

She spotted them in her rear-view mirror on the A690 at Sunderland and pulled over, knowing her by now ex-partner had probably tipped them off.

Prosecutor Sarah Malkinson told South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court: “At 11.10pm officers were made aware of a potential drink-driver.

“They were soon informed that the vehicle had tripped an ANPR camera on the A690. Her Nissan Juke has then driven past them.

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“The officers turned their vehicle around. The defendant turned her vehicle into a parking bay without being pulled over.

“They approached her window and she said that she’d had some alcohol earlier and had then argued with her partner.

“She was aware that her partner had called the police.”

Hampshire gave a roadside breath test reading of 60mcgs of alcohol in 100mls of breath. The legal limit is 35mcgs.

The court heard the level of booze in her system had risen to 69mcgs by the time of an evidential police station test.

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She has no previous convictions but pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

Alaister Naismith, defending, said: “Essentially she was twice the limit.

“She had been at her partner’s address that’s in this area, hence why she was away from Wakefield.

“There was an argument and he had thrown her and her belongings into the street. She has driven away.

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“The reason that she pulled over is that she knew that he would have reported her to police, and she saw them behind her.

“She has travelled here today from Wakefield by train, she deserves considerable credit for that, many people would not have.”

Magistrates disqualified mother-of-two Hampshire from driving for 18 months.

She was also fined £311, with £85 court costs and a £34 victim surcharge.

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