Granny too drunk to notice a tyre missing from her car

Agrandmother who was caught driving around drunk with just three tyres on her car has been banned from the road for two years.

Jennette Hindley was so drunk she was oblivious to the missing tyre as she set off on a 25-mile trip home from a night out in Perth.

The 63-year-old, reported for driving “all over the road”, was stopped and found to be nearly four times over the alcohol limit.

Admin worker Hindley was banned at Perth Sheriff Court yesterday and fined £800 by Sheriff Neil Bowie after she admitted the offence.

Hindley, of Oakfield Street, Kelty, admitted driving her Mazda 2 under the influence of alcohol in Riggs Road, Perth, on October 31 last year. Her reading was 79 mics, with the legal limit 22 mics.

Fiscal depute Sarah Wilkinson told the court: “At 7.50pm an anonymous call was received about a silver car driving all over the road in Perth city centre.

“Police traced the vehicle. It was noticed to be missing a nearside front tyre and had been running on the alloy wheel for some time.

“The driver of the vehicle was stopped and it was noted she was smelling strongly of stale alcohol. She stated there was a problem with her car.

“She was required to provide a sample and this returned a positive result. She was conveyed to police HQ.

“When she was told she failed the drink drive test, she replied ‘that’s what the machine says’.”

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said: “This lady is extremely sorry for her actions on the night in question. She instructed us immediately to plead guilty and apologise.

“She is very embarrassed. This is someone who is a grandmother and works in administration. This is very much an isolated event.

“On this night an event took place which caused her to be in a position where she wanted to return home. She lost her phone and was unable to call a taxi.

“A vehicle was available to her and she drove. Regrettably she was over the limit when doing so. She has been determined to appear in court and accept her responsibility.

“She is at pains to say this will never happen again. Disqualification will have an impact on her capacity to get to and from work. She appreciates that is due to her own folly.

“This is very much an isolated incident which arises from a difficulty that evening.”

Sheriff Bowie said: “She was heading home and her address is Kelty.

“It is a very high reading and that is a matter of some note.

“The fact it is a high reading is perhaps demonstrated by the fact she didn’t seem to be aware a tyre was missing, or if she was aware she continued to drive on it anyway.”

He told Hindley: “You clearly had taken a considerable amount of alcohol, given the reading taken by police.

“When you were stopped I’m told your car was missing a tyre in Perth city centre.

“I can only conclude that due to your state of intoxication that you were unaware it was in that state. In that state you chose to continue driving.”

The court was told that Hindley was not charged with dangerous driving.

A JURY in a murder trial was sent home overnight yesterday to resume its deliberations today.

Robbie Smullen, 23, is accused of assaulting and murdering Barry Dixon at 25 Wallace Court, in Perth, on June 4, 2019.

It is alleged that he struck him on the body with a knife or similar instrument resulting in him being so severely injured that he died later that day at Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital.

Smullen has denied the offence and lodged a special defence of self defence.

Jurors began considering their verdict yesterday morning.

At the end of the court day the trial judge, Lady Carmichael, told them to stop their deliberations and they will resume today.

Dundee University archivist Caroline Brown has researched the history of Strathmartine Hospital and worked on a series of films which detail the experiences of former staff and residents.

“It started off in the 1850s partly as an orphanage and partly as a school for children with what we’d now call learning disabilities,” she explains.

Back then, many of the patients who lived at the institute, initially called the Baldovan Hospital and then Baldovan Asylum, were referred to as “feebleminded”, “mentallydefective”, “lunatics” and “idiots”.

“In the 19th Century, hospitals for people with learning disabilities or any kind of mental illness were called asylums,” explains Caroline.

“The idea was to take people away from the cause of their illness or difficulty, maybe poor or cramped living conditions, and put them in a nice, safe area, away from the town and surrounded by beautiful countryside.

“The idea was to give them a safe place where they could be taught and properly looked after – fed, clothed, bathed, given a good routine with physical exercise.

“It wasn’t necessarily seen as a bad thing – that they were locking people away.

“They were generally trying to help and provide care for people.”

Former Coronation Street star Tracie Bennett is returning to the soap more than 20 years after her departure.

Her alter-ego, Sharon Bentley, was last seen on the cobbles in 1999.

The West End and Broadway actress will be back in Weatherfield 39 years since she first arrived as a troubled teenager.

Bennett said her return is a “dream come true” and she is “absolutely thrilled” to reprise the role of the errant foster daughter of Rita (Barbara Knox), 22 years after she walked away from Weatherfield.

“I had such an amazing time there and I am looking forward to working with Barbara again,” she said.

“I was first approached about coming back about 18 months ago.

“I was keen and excited to see what was in store but my work schedule and then the pandemic has meant that it has taken until now for it all to come together.”

Jennette Hindley was nearly four times over limit.