Woman drove home from AA meeting eight times over the limit

Police were called after neighbours spotted Louisa Owen staggering out of her sporty silver Audi A3 leaving the car door lying open.

When officers arrived at her home in Bathgate, West Lothian, Owen, 41, at first wouldn’t admit to being the driver.

But she eventually agreed to take a roadside breath test which she failed.

She was taken to the police station where she gave two breathalyser readings, the higher of which was 204milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.

Owen, of Academy Place, Bathgate, appeared from custody at Livingston Sheriff Court on Monday and pled guilty to driving with a lower level of 172mg – 7.8 times the legal limit of 22mg.

Kevin Jarvis, prosecuting, moved for forfeiture of the two year-old Audi only to be told it was owned by a finance company to which the accused was paying £400 a month.

Summary Sheriff John Cook fined Owen £700 and disqualified her from holding or obtaining a driving licence for two years.

He remarked that the reading was the highest he had seen in a drink driving case.

Owen agreed to pay the fine in monthly instalments of £150.

The highest reading of 210 was recorded by Robert Campbell in Elgin in 2002.