Trainee accountant banned from driving after speeding away from police
Trainee accountant, 20, is banned from driving after speeding away from police in her Audi at 70mph in a 40mph zone while over the limit
- Lucy McDermott, 20, had around four glasses of wine in the hours before driving
- Police car caught up with her but she sped up, Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard
- Banned for a year, fined £400 and ordered to pay £85 cost and £40 surcharge
A trainee accountant was today banned from the roads for speeding away from police at 70mph in a 40mph zone while over the drink drive limit.
Lucy McDermott, 20, from Accrington, Lancashire, accelerated her £24,000 Audi A3 when a police car approached behind her at 2am on September 20, Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard.
She then stopped and gave a sample of her breath, which contained 47 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, breaking the legal limit of 35.
Lucy McDermott, 20, from Accrington, Lancashire, accelerated her £24,000 Audi A3 when a police car approached behind her at 2am on September 20, Burnley Magistrates’ Court heard
Parveen Akhtar, prosecuting, said: ‘Officers in a police car approached a black Audi A3.
‘What drew it to their attention was that it sped off, doing around 70mph in a 40mph zone.
‘The car stopped a short distance later and when the defendant wound down the window officers could smell alcohol on her breath and her eyes appeared glazed.’
McDermott, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to a single charge of driving with excess alcohol over the incident on Whalley Road in Clitheroe.
McDermott, who had no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to a single charge of driving with excess alcohol over the incident on Whalley Road in Clitheroe
Defending McDermott, Mrs Farooq said her client fully complied with police and denied speeding off.
‘There is no suggestion of a police chase and she has not been charged with any speeding offence,’ she said.
‘On the evening in question she had been drinking over at a friend’s house.
‘She had around four glasses of wine over a seven or eight hour period and had eaten a takeaway. She said she felt fine to drive.
‘Her reading was at the lower end of the scale. This was her first time being in a police station. It has been a wake-up call for her.
‘She has now lost her previous good character. She has a job as a trainee accountant and losing her licence will affect her career.’
The chair of the bench told McDermott that her arrest and conviction ‘was a salutary lesson for her to learn’.
‘When driving it’s best not to have any alcohol at all,’ he said. ‘Hopefully we won’t see you in a court again.’
She was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £400 and ordered to pay £85 cost and a £40 surcharge.
At Burnley Magistrates’ Court (pictured) McDermott was banned from driving for 12 months, fined £400 and ordered to pay £85 cost and a £40 surcharge
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