A MOTHER of two from Shaw has been banned from the roads for drink driving after police caught her as she took her regular 150-yard route home along a remote farm track.
Sarah Crumpton, 32, of Lower Fold Farm would routinely leave her car at the top of the unadopted country lane leading to her farmhouse as taxi drivers said it was too bumpy for them to drive along it.
But as she was walking to her vehicle following a night out at a pub, Crumpton had a fallout with locals who noticed her getting into her car as she placed her high heeled shoes into the boot.
After an argument police were called and later breathalysed her on the driveway of her home.
Tests showed she was almost twice the limit. At Tameside Magistrates Court, Crumpton admitted drink driving and was disqualified from driving for 17 months.
She initially tried to plead against a road ban due to the short distance she drove and also claimed she had been the victim of a whispering campaign in her local pub.
The incident occurred on Bank Holiday Monday last August 27 after Crumpton had been out with a friend.
Her lawyer Greg Kemp said: “This lady lives on a farm and drivers have to use an unadopted road gain access.
“It is common practice for people who live in that road to drive the 150 yards of the unadopted road if they’re going somewhere.
“Then, when they get back, they would drive their cars home as taxis don’t go down there.
“This particular night, my client has gone out with a friend to a pub but while there, she sent a message to her husband.
“In it she said she feels like she is being looked at and harassed. He replied saying, ‘Don’t let them bother you’.’’
She replied saying, ‘It’s a random feeling, I feel like they’re looking at me and talking about me.’
“She then walks home and her feet are killing her, and she is about to open her car door to put her shoes in when she notices that her car has been kicked in.
“As she is putting her shoes in her car, she hears people behind her saying, ‘Are you alright to drive?’ She replies saying ‘I live on this road and I do it all the time.’
“She is then called ‘fat’ and a number of other insults, so she gets in her car and goes up the lane. Then as she gets home, the police arrive.’’
Tests showed Crumpton had 64 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 milliliters of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Mr Kemp said his client had been going through “difficulties” due to be being “harassed” by the landlord and lady of a pub in Shaw.
He added: “The only charge this lady faces is one of driving while under the influence of excess alcohol. There’s no accusation of dangerous driving.
“The reason why we asked for special reasons is because it was an unadopted road which is only used by the people that live there and it was only a short distance that she drove.
“We no longer ask for this as she does not want to give evidence.
“She is a lady of good character. On the one hand, we have a lady who comes from her vehicle and she is so drunk that she is somehow abusive to strangers.
“On the other hand we have a lady who has had difficulty and has been harassed by the landlord and lady of a pub in Shaw.
“I would ask you to take into account her guilty plea and the short distance she drove. It’s an unusual set of circumstances in an unusual area.”
Earlier prosecutor David Morgan said: “This defendant was seen drunk getting into her car. She was approached by the residents and there was a short verbal altercation.
“After that, they saw her drive off up a private lane to her home.
“She then parked up her vehicle outside her house and the police arrived and a roadside breathalyser test was administered, which she failed.’’
Crumpton was also fined £120 plus ordered to pay £85 in costs.
JP Joe Simon told her: “We have assessed all the evidence that has gone towards this case and we are going to disregard the extra evidence put forward by your defence and take it as a drink drive case.”