Jan Park banned for 18 months after pleading guilty to drink driving

Jane Park, whoo won £1 million on the Lottery when she was only 17, has been fined £900 and banned from driving for 18 months after pleading guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today (March 8) to being three times over the drink drive limit.

Jane Park has been banned for 18 months and fined after pleading guilty to drink driving. Picture; Jane Barlow

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Jane Park admitted having 66 microgrammes of alcohol in her breath, when the limit is 22, at a McDonald’s drive-thru at Straiton Mains Road in the early hours of the morning on October 8 last year.

Fiscal Depute, Nathan Gale, told Sheriff Gordon Liddle that around 05.46 in the morning, Park drove into the drive-thru area and staff noticed that her speech was slurred. They believed she was under the influence of alcohol and contacted the police. Officers arrived at 06.05.

Jane Park, who appeared in court under the surname of her mum, Jane Restorick, was still in her car in the drive-thru and the police noted a strong smell of alcohol.

She was taken to Dalkeith Police station where the test was carried out.

Defence solicitor, Stephen Mannifield, said his client lived with her mother and was unemployed. “She accepts that disqualification must follow” he said “because the reading was well beyond the minimum”.

He apologised to Sheriff Liddle telling him that Park had left her licence in her car at home. The offence, he said: “was a mistake.

She had consumed alcohol three times the limit and decided to transfer herself and a friend to McDonald’s”.

He added that Park had a limited record, but no previous convictions for Road Traffic offences.

Mr Mannifield suggested that as a result of Park’s “poor decision making” it would be beneficial for her to undergo the drink-driving course.

Sheriff Lidddle told Park it was correct to say she had made a bad decision. “Anyone with that amount of alcohol is a danger to the public. You could have killed someone and you would have been in a different court on a different charge and lost your freedom for a considerable period of time”.

Sheriff Liddle agreed that Park could take part in the drive-drive course, adding that she would have to pay that herself, fined her £900, disqualified her for 18 months and ordered that she surrender her licence to the court within 24 hours. Mr Mannifield said his client would also pay the fine within 24 hours.