A nurse was caught drink driving after a police officer spotted a car ‘swerving over the road’.
Appearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court today (6 July), 41-year-old Angela Ofori, of South View, Purton, pleaded guilty to driving whilst over the prescribed alcohol limit.
Kate Prince, prosecuting, said the defendant was stopped driving an Audi Q5 on Tewkesbury Way on 22 May this year by a police officer who observed her vehicle ‘swerving over the road’.
She provided the officer with a positive sample of breath and in custody blew an evidential sample of 42 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The limit is 35 microgrammes.
Simon Collingham, defending, said Ofori came to the UK from Ghana at the age of 24. She started working as a care assistant before progressing on to become a district nurse.
Since the incident, and expecting a driving ban, the defendant has changed her nursing role – and now works night shifts and uses a taxi to get to and from work.
Mr Collingham said that on the night of the offence, Ofori had been drinking at a memorial service held for a relative and made the decision to drive home.
He described her crime as “completely out of character”, adding that she will “learn from this, and not come before the court again”.
District Judge Joanna Dickens imposed a 12-month driving disqualification and a £500 fine. She must also pay £85 costs and a £34 surcharge.
