Please don’t ban me begs drink-drive widow... my driveway’s too far to walk
A WEALTHY drink-driver tried to dodge a road ban – by claiming her driveway was too long to walk down.
Barbara Woodward, 56, said the quarter-of-a-mile path to her rural mansion was so vast she would “struggle” to get around.
The widow was found three times over the limit after popping out at 9am in her £80,000 Mercedes G-Class to buy champagne.
She was spotted crawling along at about 5mph.
Woodward begged not to be banned, saying she would have to “make lifestyle changes”.
She also pleaded to be spared unpaid work as it would “put her in an alien surrounding”, having never worked a day in her life.
But Woodward was disqualified for two years after she was convicted of drink-driving at Stockport magistrates court on Tuesday.
Woodward, of Chelford, Cheshire, was also given a 12-month community order, fined £560 and ordered to pay £705 in costs. But she was spared any unpaid work.
Stumbling
The court heard Woodward was arrested on November 17, two days after her lawyer husband’s funeral following a long-term illness.
Petrol station attendant Sharid Butt said: “I saw the 4x4 driving really slowly.
“The lady got out and was stumbling all over the forecourt.
“She came into the shop, grabbed three bottles of wine then she stumbled over to the counter to pay.
“I asked her if she was all right and she said she was fine. I then said, ‘You seem like you’re drunk and I am not going to serve you.’
“She left the shop and stumbled back to her car. I called the police.”
Police found Woodward slumped in her seat with a sandwich and two bottles of wine.
A test registered 104 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Woodward told the hearing: “I buried my husband on November 15.
“He did everything. I had never paid a bill in my life.”
She added: “I bought two bottles and drank them in the car. I know it was wrong but I was desperate to get rid of the pain.”
Nigel Beeson, defending, said: “This lady has quite a large front drive, a quarter of a mile.
“Being banned would be difficult for her. She will struggle to get around.
“She has never worked. Giving her unpaid work would put her in an alien surrounding and make her feel uncomfortable.” A probation report stated: “She was experiencing huge trauma related to the unfortunate death of her husband.
“The funeral took place two days before the offence.
“They had a very close relationship.
“He supported her while she looked after the home.”