A JUDGE has told a woman who was almost four times over the drink-drive limit that it filled him with “horror” that she was driving with that much alcohol.

Jennifer Crawford (48), with an address of Camgart Road, Clabby, Tempo, gave a reading of 128mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood after she was stopped on November 11 of last year. The breath limit for alcohol is 35mg of alcohol per 100ml of breath.

At around 5.30pm, an off-duty police officer observed a Hyundai jeep on the Dublin Road veering over the white lines.

When the car was stopped by police, they observed that the driver’s speech was slurred and she smelt of intoxicating liquor.

An open bottle of vodka was also seen lying on the passenger seat.

Crawford failed a preliminary breath test, before giving the evidential reading of 128mg.

Her solicitor, Gary Black, said that his client had struggled with alcohol for some time and she had found it more difficult during the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.

He said she had been with a friend and had left her phone behind, and was returning to obtain it, and pointed out that while police observed her veering across the white line, there were no other issues with her driving.

District Judge Liam McNally said the idea of meeting Crawford when she was driving with that level of alcohol “fills me with horror”, adding that he could well impose a custodial sentence.

To mark the seriousness of the offence, Crawford received a four-month custodial sentence, suspended for two years, and a two-year driving disqualification, with Judge McNally adding: “It is absolutely horrible to be on a road with that amount of alcohol.”