A north-east woman is facing jail after getting behind the wheel while more than five times the drink-drive limit – with an 11-month-old in the back seat.
Marion Stephen was caught by police on the A96 Huntly to Inverurie road on Saturday night after officers received reports of a car being driven erratically.
When they went to look for the blue Land Rover they found it parked up on a grass verge at the side of the road near Bogside.
As the police approached the vehicle they could see Stephen trying to get out of the driver’s side of the car and when they started to talk to the 33-year-old they believed she was under the influence of alcohol.
A road side breath test showed she had 115 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 22mcg.
After checking the 4×4, officers found an 11-month-old child strapped into the back seat.
Yesterday Stephen appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court and admitted committing her second drink-driving offence.
The court heard that the reading from her first conviction was 73mcg of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
Fiscal depute Lynzi Souter said Stephen had told the officers who found her at the side of the road that she had stopped the car as she needed to go to the toilet.
She said before Stephen had pulled over concerns had been raised by members of the public about her manner of driving.
Defence agent Iain Hingston said his client, of 5 Paradise Road, Kemnay, was disgusted with herself.
Sheriff William Taylor deferred sentence for background reports, but warned he was considering prison.
He said: “It is appalling that a drunk woman would get behind the wheel with an 11-month-old child in the car. Not only did she put her own life at risk but she also placed the life of that child, and other innocent road users, in danger.”
Stephen will return to court to be sentenced next month.