A Chippenham woman was so drunk she crashed her car into McDonald’s.
Donna Hayhoe said she had driven to the fast food restaurant ‘simply because she fancied a burger’, Swindon Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday (25 October).
The heavily intoxicated 54-year-old crashed her Fiat 500 into a bin and a curb when she arrived at about 10pm on Tuesday (24 October) – and narrowly avoided hitting a lamppost.
After ordering her meal at the Bath Road drive-through, she was told to park in the waiting bay. As she attempted to do so, she struck the building and a raised seating area.
Keith Ballinger, prosecuting, said that a McDonald’s worker called 999 to report the incident. When officers arrived, she was found in the driver’s seat of her vehicle.
After failing a roadside breath test, she was arrested. In custody, Hayhoe provided an evidential reading of 120 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.
The defendant, of Jasmine Close, Chippenham, made full admissions in interview – stating she had drunk excessively and went to McDonald’s ‘simply because she fancied a burger’.
Representing herself in court, she told the magistrates: “First of all, today is the first time I’ve admitted I’m an alcoholic and I need help.
“I saw the lady from The Nelson’s Trust, Danielle, who said if I want to change, they can help me change and I’ll get better.
“I’ve never been in trouble with the courts before ever, I don’t know what happened, I’m sorry.”
Hayhoe was given an interim driving ban and, due to the level of intoxication, the case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report. She’ll return for sentencing in November.
