Newsteam
A mother has gained the notoriety and the dubious title of Britain Worst Female Drunk Driver after she left her young child at home while she drove to the off-licence to get more booze.
Tracey Chambers, 35, was five and a half times the limit – the most for a woman motorist ever recorded in Britain.
But despite this, she walked free from court.
The mum had already drunk three bottles of wine and was driving to buy more alcohol when police stopped her, Northampton Magistrates Court heard.
She gave a breathalyser reading showing 188 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath - 5.4 times the legal limit of 35 micrograms.
She was banned from driving for three years and given a 12-month probation supervision order with alcohol treatment.
The court was told how Chambers hit the bottle after losing her job almost four years ago.
Neil Clark, defending, said she had not been able to find work since then, had been struggling to make her mortgage payments, and had turned to alcohol when she became depressed.
Mr Clark said she had seen her doctor since the offence and had been admitted to St Mary's Hospital in Kettering, Northamptonshire, for treatment. He said she was no longer drinking alcohol and was working with a social worker.