Charlotte Macdonald, 23, of Sandy Lane, St Sampson’s, and Karin Leale, 53, of Route Carre, St Sampson’s, both pleaded guilty.
Judge Gary Perry said there had been an exponential increase in the number of drink-drive cases coming before the court, many with high readings. The court had to send out a strong message in sentencing for these offences, he said.
Macdonald was caught after police responded to a report of a single vehicle road traffic collision at 11.20pm at L’Ancresse Road, Vale.
When they got there the defendant was standing by a Ford Fiesta, belonging to a family member, which had struck a wall.
She failed a roadside breath test and an evidential one at the Police Station following her arrest showed there were 104mcg of alcohol per 100ml of her breath, three times the limit.
She admitted driving from The Britannia pub in Trinity Square. She could not recall how much she had drunk.
Defending, Advocate Samuel Steel said his client had stopped at the roadside following the collision and put the car’s hazard warning lights on.
But Judge Perry noted that she had told a probation officer that she had stopped because she had been unable to restart the car, and would have driven off if she could have.
Advocate Steel said while his client had alcohol-related matters on her record from 2020 and 2021 there was nothing for drink-driving. She had paid for repairs to the wall to be carried out and had not drunk socially since the incident.
Judge Perry said this had been a serious offence and a custodial sentence was the the only option. ‘The fact that you tried to drive off after almost ripping a wheel off your car just beggars belief,’ he said.
Macdonald was also banned from driving for four-and-a-half-years.
Leale was taken off the roads for the same period after the court heard she had knocked down a wall and then continued to drive home from the Hampshire Lodge. She had collided with a wall and shrubbery when she drove into the pub between 4 and 5pm, and police followed a report from someone who noticed how badly her car was damaged, and visited her at home at 7pm.
A breath test at the police station revealed 127mcg of alcohol in 100ml of breath.
She had collided with a driveway wall in Pleinheaume, Vale, and knocked part of it down. A bumper bracket from her car was found at the scene.
Leale admitted that she was a regular heavy drinker. She recalled hitting something at Pleinheaume but did not know what. She had no previous convictions.
Advocate Steel his client fully accepted her actions and had been frank about her conduct. She appreciated it was a shocking reading. She had put other people at risk and could have caused devastating harm.
He said family issues had caused his client stress, and she had self-reported to alcohol related services since this incident.
Judge Gary Perry said this had been an extremely high reading that had to be taken in the context of extremely poor driving. The fact that she had driven on after the collision showed her disregard for others, he added.