Drink-drive mum taken off road after book run to school

A MOTHER was banned from the road after she made a delivery run to her children’s school while seven times the drink-drive limit.

Sarah Bell, 38, pictured, was doing the housework in her Skye home when she came across a book that should have been at school, and got in the car to make the two-minute journey to drop it off.

But staff noticed the mother-of-two, who had recently lost her job, smelled strongly of alcohol, and reported her to police.

Officers visited the house 15 minutes later and took Bell to the local police station where she was breathalysed and charged with being almost nine times the legal drink-drive limit. The level was later reduced to seven times.

She was then locked up in a cell for three nights before making her initial court appearance on the Monday.

Yesterday at Portree Sheriff Court as Bell ad-

“You should be thoroughly ashamed. You had care for two young children”

mitted the offence, Sheriff Bill Taylor said: “This was a very bad situation.

“You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. You had the care and responsibility for two young children.”

Fiscal Michelle Molloy told how Bell called at 260pupil Portree Primary School to deliver a book and spoke at first to the school secretary.

The fiscal added: “She smelled strongly of alcohol and was clearly intoxicated. The secretary told the head teacher and the pair saw the accused get back into her car and drive off.

“Police were alerted and called at the woman's house about 15 minutes later.”

She was taken to the local police station, breathtested and arrested.

Defence lawyer Hamish Melrose said his client was a first offender and had driven for about 20 years.

He said: “Until about three weeks before this offence she had worked for salmon fish- farm company Marine Harvest for 13 years.

“But along with others was made redundant. She was at home with no job and started to drink too much.

“While doing housework she found a book which should have been at the school. So she made the two-minute drive to deliver it.

“She had been drinking excessively into the early hours and made the gross error of judgment to drive.

“This happened on the Friday, so she was kept in custody until making her first court appearance on the Monday.”

It was heard that Bell, of the Shieling, Portree, had consumed alcohol at her home after coming home from the school and before the police arrived.

As a result, the 191 reading in the charge, to which she pleaded guilty, was reduced to 153 – seven times the limit of 22.

The court heard Bell was now a part-time housemaid in a B&B and supported by her delivery driver husband.

Sheriff Taylor fined her £500 and banned her from the road for a year.

Outside the court when asked if she had any comment on her court appearance Bell replied: “People make mistakes.”