A mum drunk on vodkas and martinis said she got behind the wheel of her car following a 'violent' incident at a party.
Neighbours found out Patricia Whitehead had crashed into a parked car when they heard a 'bang' on Inman Avenue on St Helens, Merseyside.
Residents saw the mum drunk behind the wheel of a red Kia Picanto while her 13-year-old daughter sat in a passenger seat "crying", Liverpool Echo reports.
Being more than four times the legal limit, and was then arrested for drink driving.
Her defence lawyer today told Liverpool Magistrates' Court the 50-year-old got behind the wheel after drinking vodkas and martinis because she was "unsettled" by an "incident of violence" of which she was "effectively the victim".
Andy Page, prosecuting, said neighbours called police at 11.45pm on March 21 this year after the mum told residents she had drunk that evening.
She returned a positive breath test and in a police interview said she had been at a family member's house and had drunk "four single vodkas" and "three or four homemade martinis".
She then told police "two men came into the house, (and) she tried to push them out."
Whitehead said she "didn't remember getting the car key out of her bag" and "only remembered when her head hit the steering wheel".
Mr Page said she told police she takes medication for high blood pressure and anxiety.
She also said she had only had onion rings to eat throughout the day.
The court heard Whitehead, of Mount Pleasant Avenue, St Helens, has no previous convictions.
Paul Kilty, defending, said she had co-operated with the probation service and admitted the incident on her first appearance in court.
He said she had "gone to the occasion without any intention of driving home" but had been "unsettled" by the incident.
Mr Kilty said he had seen "some CCTV footage of males kicking the door through" and said it was an incident reported to police.
He added Whitehead knew it was not a "suitable excuse" but there could have been "far more serious circumstances".
Whitehead admitted one count of driving a motor vehicle above the alcohol level limit.
The charge specifies the mum returned 92 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, when the legal limit is 22 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath.
District Judge Paul Clarke, sentencing, said Whitehead had taken positive steps to address her drinking and noted she had remained at the scene when police were called.
The judge handed Whitehead a 12-month community order and she must complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
Judge Clarke said the order included a drink drivers rehabilitation course.
She was disqualified from driving for two years and must pay £85 costs and a £95 victim surcharge.
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