A mum was found to have been drink driving after a cabbie reported her for blocking a garage petrol pump.
Lisa Ross was behind the wheel of her VW Golf at Morrisons fuel station, in Byker, when a concerned taxi driver saw her with her head in her hands and phoned the police.
Officers attended the scene after the 40-year-old had left but later located the vehicle outside her home address.
A court heard that the car was parked at an angle and blocking a neighbour's driveway.
Police spoke to Ross after knocking on her door and she confirmed she was the owner of the vehicle and had just driven back from Morrisons.
But the officers could smell booze on her breath and she was arrested after failing a roadside test.
Mum-of-five Ross, of Sutherland Avenue, in Fenham, initially pleaded not guilty to one count of driving with excess alcohol but changed her plea before the case was due for trial.
Rebecca Gibson, prosecuting at North Tyneside Magistrates' Court, said the taxi driver first noticed Ross at Morrisons petrol station, on Shields Road, at around 7pm on March 8 last year.
"His attention was drawn to a VW Golf blocking the pumps," Mrs Gibson continued.
"There was a female in the driving seat and a male in the passenger seat.
"The female had her head in her hands down by the steering wheel.
"He had concerns for her welfare, so contacted the police."
The court heard that a nearby patrolling officer attended the scene but Ross had already left.
Mrs Gibson added: "The officer located the vehicle parked outside [Ross's address]. It was parked at an angle and blocking the neighbouring house driveway.
"The officer knocked on the door and spoke with the defendant."
Magistrates were told that Ross later gave a reading of 60 microgrammes of alcohol in 100ml of breath when the legal limit is just 35.
She was arrested but made no comment in interview.
Richard Haswell, defending, said Ross only had one past conviction from 2016.
He added: "Miss Ross went over to the petrol station on the other side of town.
"The reason she went was because her and her then partner were having a serious disagreement - that's what the taxi driver saw in the car.
"She was crying in the car, that was the taxi driver's concern."
Magistrates fined Ross £135 and ordered her to pay £100 costs and a £32 victim surcharge. She was also banned from driving for 17 months.
