A 49-YEAR-OLD woman from Ulverston has avoided a jail sentence after being caught driving when she was almost four times above the legal drink-drive limit.

Catherine Townend was breathalysed by police at her home in Daisy Hill, Great Urswick, Ulverston, and was found to have 139 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, with the legal limit being 35 microgrammes.

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Mr Lee Dacre, prosecuting, told the court how on August 25, Townend drove an orange Suzuki car to Mountbarrow service station in Mountbarrow Road, Ulverston, where she bought 12 cans of cider.

The court heard how the 49-year-old was well-known to staff at the service station and on previous occasions she had pleaded with them not to serve her as she recognises that she has an alcohol problem.

She later returned and attempted to buy a further eight cans, but staff refused to serve her as they were concerned that she was drunk. After leaving, the staff informed the police.

She then went on to McColls in Central Drive, Ulverston, where she purchased eight cans of Carlsberg.

Police later turned up at her home to breathalyse Townend and discovered that she had been driving whilst over the legal limit.

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to the drink driving charge at Furness Magistrates' Court on September 13 and sentencing adjourned until yesterday to allow a pre-sentence report to be prepared.

Mr Andrew Gallagher, defending, admitted that his client suffered from mental health problems and used alcohol as a coping mechanism.

He said: "She is occasionally a binge drinker rather than someone who drinks on a daily basis and is dependent on alcohol.

"This is someone who has had issues with alcohol and mental health problems but someone who has sought assistance.

"She was fully co-operative with police and in the police interview expressed real remorse as she said how ashamed she was at herself in this situation.

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"This is her first interaction with the criminal justice system and I can confer that this has had a profound effect on her life. She has been devastated by the situation she finds herself in."

Presiding magistrate, Mr Ian Skillen, handed Townend a 12-week sentence suspended for 18 months.

The 49-year-old was also banned from driving for 30 months, ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work and made to pay a victim surcharge of £115 and court costs of £85.