Car falls apart around drink drive gran - court

The court was told how the 63-year-old was finally blocked in by appalled fellow motorists in Lambourn after a nightmare journey through villages in which tyres shredded and flew from the car, smoke and sparks poured from the engine, village roads were gouged by metal wheel rims and other drivers narrowly escaped tragedy
The noise of Gail Patricia Clements’ screaming engine as she sped past in first gear brought residents running from their homes.
Earlier, cars had dodged as she careered towards them on the wrong side of the road.
But perhaps worst of all, said Helen Waite, prosecuting, was that when Mrs Clements’ rampage finally ended, “two small children got out of the car after her.”
Witness Michelle Darling gave a dramatic account of the events of August 10 when she first noticed the blue Vauxhall Astra near the Red Lion in Baydon.
As it lurched towards Lambourn, she said: “It was all over the road, first straddling the white line, then on the wrong side of the road. It would almost stop, then speed up, all the time swaying into oncoming traffic. The tyres were completely flat.. It turned off Ermin Street onto Baydon Road towards Lambourn. It drove right into the path of an oncoming vehicle but at the last minute, narrowly avoided an accident by violently swerving back.”
Ms Waite took up the story, saying: “The next thing Ms Darling and her partner saw was a tyre rolling down the hill towards them. “They stopped to remove it from the road and as they drove on, they saw more tyres shredded along the road.”
One Baydon Road resident described a “high-pitched screaming from the engine” and added: “Sparks were flying from it and people came out of their homes to see what was going on.”
By now, the court heard, Mrs Clements was driving on the metal wheel rims, gouging village roads as she went.
Ms Waite continued: “She turned left towards Upper Lambourn by Parsonage Place. Smoke was now pouring from under the bonnet; the street was scored but she managed to get to the end of the road without hitting anything.”
When the car lurched to a halt, residents blocked it in before it could speed off again and an off-duty police officer detained Mrs Clements, the court heard.
Ms Waite said witnesses were then astonished and upset to see two small children climb out of the car after their grandmother.
Subsequent tests showed 114mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath in her system - more than three times the legal limit of 35mcg.
Mrs Clements, of Kestrel Road, Calne in Wiltshire, answered “no comment” to all police questions, the court heard, but admitted driving after drinking more than the legal limit.
Nadine Colyer, defending, said: “She is not only at risk of going into custody but she has lost contact with her grandchildren.”
She asked magistrates to adjourn sentence while pre-sentence reports are prepared.
Magistrates concurred but told Mrs Clements the matter was so serious that she must be sentenced by a Crown court judge.
She was bailed meanwhile, and an interim driving ban imposed.