Mum drove son while four times drink limit
Each of these spectacular historic properties has a fascinating story waiting to be discovered
ACOURT heard it was “nothing short of sheer luck” that a serious accident wasn’t caused when a mother, who was four times over the drink-drive limit, drove her seven-yearold to a Welsh beach.
Sadie Smith, of Centurion Drive in Meols, Wirral, was caught on dash-cam footage driving so erratically that she ploughed over a roundabout and into a grass verge.
The 47-year-old cried as her family sat beside her while Wrexham Magistrates’ Court was shown footage of her almost colliding with a road sign on the A548 in Flintshire in March, with her son, aged seven, in the car with her.
Prosecutor Helen Tench said Smith had been drinking the night before and had had some alcohol in the hours before she set off to find a beach.
A concerned member of the public called police at about midday on March 19 when they saw a Saab Index being driven “erratically” in Flintshire.
Smith was arrested after being found at the McDonald’s restaurant on the Flint Retail Park “stumbling around the drive-through” and “slurring her words”.
When she was caught, she gave a breath reading of 139. The legal alcohol limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.
The court was shown some dash-cam footage of the mother-of-one swerving across roads before she ended up on the grass verge of a roundabout. She then drove off along the A548 in the direction of Flint.
Stephen Edwards, defending, said this had been “a real wake-up call” for his client.
She had been using alcohol “as a crutch” to deal with issues that have been ongoing in her life now “for a number of years”, he added.
Smith, he told the court, had felt the pressures of being a single mother during the Covid-19 pandemic, balancing the sudden need to work from home as well as educate her young son. This, combined with other factors, led to her “hitting the bottle”.
Tracey Flavell, from the probation service, said Smith “clearly” wasn’t thinking about the consequences of her actions that day.
She accepted that, “in trying to do something nice for her son”, she was in fact “putting lives at risk”.
She said Smith has “found it difficult to ask for help” but is now seeking support within her community.
The court also heard that the criminal charge led to Smith losing her 23-year career.
Presiding Justice Jacqui Jones branded Smith’s actions as “very dangerous” and banned her from driving for the next 36 months.
She was also told – as part of her 12-month community order – to complete unpaid work for 300 hours.
She said: “It was nothing short of sheer luck that you didn’t cause a fatality when driving over 30 miles in a very dangerous and erratic manner with your seven-year-old son in the car.
“That footage played today no doubt shocked you, your family and us – the magistrates.
“You could have been going to prison today but you have made significant attempts off your own bat to address your issues with alcohol.
“We think you’ll make those changes last and not be back before these courts again.”
FROM magnificent manors to humble homes and town residences, the houses and buildings National Trust Cymru looks after all tell their own unique story. Step inside and discover more for yourself...
ERDDIG
Erddig is a muchloved home, garden and estate; sitting on a dramatic escarpment above the winding Clywedog river, it tells the 250-year-old story of the Yorkes and their servants.
In 1683, work began on building a new house for Joshua Edisbury, High Sheriff of Denbighshire, but Edisbury overstretched himself and by 1709 was bankrupt. John Mellor, a successful London lawyer, bought up the debts and set about furnishing his new house with the very best furniture and fabrics. Mellor bequeathed the house to his nephew Simon Yorke on his death in 1733, and from there it remained with the Yorkes for seven generations.
Simon Yorke IV inherited Erddig in 1922 at the age of 19 but the estate was in serious financial trouble and few staff remained. The nationalisation of the Coal Board in 1947 meant coal was mined from beneath the house and serious subsidence took place. Erddig declined but Simon refused to part with anything, and all remained intact.
After inheriting Erddig following Simon’s death in 1966, Philip Yorke III later entrusted the site to the National Trust in 1973. The conservation charity faced a huge conservation challenge and began a four-year period of restoration.
Today, Erddig holds one of the National Trust’s largest collections, including servants’ portraits and carefully preserved rooms that capture their lives in the early 20th century, while upstairs is a treasure trove of fine furniture, textiles and wallpapers.
Sometime during the 1770s, Philip Yorke and his wife Elizabeth decided to redecorate Erddig Hall. They had the advantage of being able to afford some of the best craftspeople and to purchase some of the most fashionable products on the global market. ■ Don’t miss... the handpainted Chinese wallpaper, lavishly decorated with exquisite birds and flowers in the principal bedroom.
POWIS CASTLE
Powis Castle, a medieval fortress built in the 13th century by the Welsh ruler of Powys, Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, sits high on a rock above its garden in Welshpool.
By the late 13th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Gwynedd had established himself as Prince of Wales, and in 1274 he destroyed Powis Castle, forcing Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn into exile. However, within three years Llywelyn’s principality had crumbled, leaving Gruffudd of Powys to regain his lordship and rebuild the castle.
The castle then passed on to the Charltons in the 1300s, followed by the Tiptofts and Greys. Years of neglect left the castle in need of restoration, until the 1530s when Edward Grey began a major re-building programme.
Edward Herbert, second son of the Earl of Pembroke, continued this re-modelling when he purchased the castle in the 1580s. Renovated and embellished over more than 400 years, the Castle and Garden you see today reflects the changing ambitions and visions of the Herbert family. Each generation
contributed to the collection of paintings, sculptures, furniture and tapestries on view today.
Powis also holds one of the UK’s most significant collections of south Asian objects, housed in the Clive Museum. The collection was amassed by Robert Clive and his son Edward (later 1st Earl of Powis), major figures in the British East India Company. The third contributor was Henrietta Herbert, who Edward Clive married, thus uniting the two families.
■ Don’t miss... one of the most charming portrait miniatures of the Jacobean age, a small picture by the court artist Isaac Oliver. Full-length miniatures like this, exquisitely decorated with bright pigments and precious metals like silver and gold, are exceptionally rare. Reclining on a grassy bank beside a stream, Sir Edward Herbert was a courtier, soldier, diplomat and man of letters. His sumptuous costume matches the livery of his horse, and this, with his shield, suggests he is resting after a royal jousting tournament.