Mum was caught three times over limit with her two children in car
A MOTHER was more than three times the drink-drive limit with her two young children in the car after getting drunk at a family festival billed as ‘Glastonbury for kids’.
Laura Roberts, 36, attended the Geronimo Festival with her children, aged two and four, as a treat for them after she and their father split up, a court heard.
The three-day event at Arley hall in Cheshire attracted around 25,000 people to watch stars of youTube and CBeebies as well as jousting, a puppet theatre, motorcycle displays, choirs and face-painting.
During the last night of the festival, May 27, the council worker drank toffee-flavoured vodka and then had a glass of wine the next morning. Thinking she was exhausted as a result of sunburn, rather than drunk, the single mother put her children into her Ford hatchback and drove home.
But when a witness saw her swaying across the road, she overtook and pulled in front, only for Roberts to drive into the back of her – luckily resulting in no injuries.
Police were called and a test revealed Roberts had more than three times the legal limit of alco- hol in her blood. She was banned from driving for two years after she pleaded guilty to driving while under the influence of alcohol.
Steve Woodman, prosecuting, told Stockport Magistrates Court Roberts was spotted at around 3.30pm ‘veering across the lanes’. The other driver, a Miss Dyson, overtook and thought Roberts ‘looked drunk’.
‘As she moved in front of the Ford car, it went into the back of her car,’ he said. ‘In an interview, Miss Dyson said she had been drinking. The previous day she had been drinking toffee-flavoured vodka. She said she then woke up in the morning and had a glass of wine. After the accident, she said that she was beginning to feel the wine that she had earlier that day.’
The court heard Roberts had no previous convictions and had been driving for 19 years with no endorsements. Defending, Maria Brannon, said a ‘combination of the alcohol from the night before and sunburn’ made her feel ill when she was driving home.
She said Roberts, who had been at the festival with a friend, was ‘very ashamed of what happened’, saying the accident came after she got lost down a country lane.
Miss Brannnon added: ‘Since her husband left her 20 months ago, she has been the sole, primary carer of her children and has been working very hard. This incident was completely out of character for her and it is highly unlikely that she will commit an offence like this again.
‘This was a special treat for her children after the difficult 18 months they had since her husband left.’
She added that Roberts was ‘an excellent mother in difficult circumstances and ‘bitterly regrets’ her decision to drive home.
‘She is distraught that she put her own children and future at risk,’ said Miss Brannon.
As well as the two-year driving ban, Roberts, from Wigan, was given a 12-month community order and will have to do 100 hours of unpaid work.
‘Wine in the morning’