Eithne Margaret Robertson, of Victoria Drive, also managed to cause £1,300 worth of damage to a passing vehicle on Paradise Drive on November 14.

She pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol when she appeared before Eastbourne magistrates court on Wednesday.

Mark Kateley, prosecuting, said Robertson's Skoda Octavia was seen 'driving somewhat erratically' along Carlisle Road and Paradise Drive.

He said, "It scraped a passing vehicle causing some £1,300 of damage.

"The vehicle continued on and was followed by someone who was keeping an eye on the situation.

"The car was followed to Compton Drive where it stopped. The keys were removed by the witness who observed what was going on.

"The defendant was seen crying over the steering wheel."

Police were called and Robertson was breath tested. The reading of 166 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath was well in excess of the legal limit of 35mcg.

Mr Kateley said Robertson told police she had been drinking until 3am that morning and had driven her children to school. She told officers she 'did not recall any kind of accident'.

The court heard Robertson, a midwife, had not been in trouble before.
Stuart Grace, defending, said Robertson had been going through a 'crisis period' in the last five years.

He said her sister had died, she had been through a divorce, had to sell the family home and pull her children out of education.
Mr Grace said, "These progressive hits on her personal life has caused her to turn to drink."

He said Robertson attends Alcoholics Anonymous meetings six days every week but on this occasion a friend unaware of her drink problem had visited and left a bottle of whiskey behind.

Mr Grace added, "This was too tempting. Inevitably the next morning her ability to drive was substantially impaired.

"She is entirely embarrassed about being in the dock. Her ex-husband was an alcoholic and she spent a lot of time nursing him back to health. He got past that problem and she knows she can as well.

"This is an episode she will learn from. She's an educated woman — a midwife — and the odds of it happening again are very slim."

Magistrates adjourned the case to allow probation to compile a report on Robertson's character before sentencing.

But they warned that due to the high alcohol reading, and the potential danger to the public during the incident, they were leaving all options open, including jail.

They also disqualified Robertson from driving until her next court appearance, on December 18.

She was released on unconditional bail.