A WOMAN has been jailed after magistrates deemed she posed ‘a real risk to the public’.

Chloe Wilson, of Lord Street in Barrow, was sentenced on February 7 at South Cumbria Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to charges of drink driving, driving while disqualified and driving without third-party insurance at an earlier hearing.

Peter Kelly prosecuting said the 28-year-old was driving a Fiat Punto on Drake Street in Barrow while disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence.

He said the defendant was stopped by officers on patrol on January 3 where she was also found to be driving while over the legal alcohol limit and without a policy of insurance.

The court heard the defendant was over two times the legal drink driving limit having given a lowest reading of 75 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35 microgrammes.

Mr Kelly said the offences were aggravated as they were committed while she was subject to a previous suspended sentence order, and also while she was on bail.  

As a result, magistrates jailed Wilson for 28 weeks and banned her from driving for 1,497 days.  

Magistrates said she had shown a ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’ and that her offending continued ‘despite opportunities given to address issues’.

They added that the defendant had a ‘significant record’ of previous offences of a similar nature and said that the defendant posed ‘a real risk to the public whilst she continues to offend’.

Wilson also admitted a separate offence of theft from a shop after stealing £15.93 worth of items from Home Bargains on Dalton Road on August 30 last year.

As punishment, magistrates ordered she pay every single penny back to the store in compensation.