Lisa Swift received a suspended sentence for drink driving after her lawyer said she was ‘petrified’ of going to jail
Lisa Swift, 37, outside Warrington Magistrates Court(Image: Cavendish Press (Manchester) LTD)
A mother who drove while at three times the legal alcohol limit with her children in the back seat has received a suspended sentence.
Lisa Swift, 37, crashed her Nissan Juke into a parked car after she took her two children and one of their friends to the pub following a rugby match on September 14 of this year, Warrington Magistrates Court heard.
When questioned, Swift said she had been drinking cans of Budweiser until the early hours. She had two more the next morning before ferrying her son aged eight, daughter aged three and the other child to the game at 10.30am.
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She then took the children to the pub at lunchtime where she had another pint of lager before crashing her vehicle whilst on her way home. The children were unharmed in the accident, Cavendish Press reported.
Angela Blackmore, prosecuting, told the court: ”The defendant was seen on September 14 after a witness contacted the police to advise that her vehicle had been involved in a road traffic collision.
“When officers attend they notice that a black Nissan Juke had collided with a silver Toyota Prius which was stationary and unoccupied at the time of the collision.
“In the Nissan, there were four occupants, the defendant, two children and the child’s friend. Following a positive roadside breath test, she was arrested and taken into custody.
”During an interview with police, the defendant said that between the afternoon on September 13 and the early hours of September 14, around 2-3am, she had been drinking cans of Budweiser.
“She woke up at 8.30am and had a further two, then at 10.30am, she drove her son and her daughter to her son’s rugby game.
“Following that she took the two children and the son’s friend to a public house where she once had one or one and a half pints.
“They left around 1.30pm and when she was driving the vehicle she felt the car was giving. She tried to brake and slow down and it did not and she crashed. She said she was having a lot going on with her daughter.”
Tests showed Threlfall had 119 micrograms of alcohol in 100m millilitres of breath, over three times the legal limit of 35 mg.
In mitigation, defence solicitor Peter Green said: “Underpinning this offence is Miss Swift’s long-term alcohol dependency which is brought on by a number of deep seated issues – most noticeably difficulties she has had in relationships.
“It is clear that while she at times managed to control her alcohol dependency, there are other times as more recently she has been unable to do that. That is when there is a trigger issue in her life. ”
He added: “This lady has never been in custody and she will struggle in a custodial situation. Most importantly there is not anyone else to look after the children. We do not want the children penalised unduly.
“That is perhaps the most important part of all, the prospect of an immediate custodial sentence and nobody to look after the children.
“We do not want to unduly upset the children when there could realistically be an alternative. Other defendants who appear before the court are not really bothered whether they go to Altcourse prison or Styal because they will see their friends.
“This lady is completely different. She is frankly petrified of immediate custody.”
At Warrington Magistrates court, Swift, who lives in the Bewsey and Whitecross area of the town, pleaded guilty to drink driving. She was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, suspended for two years.
She was also ordered to complete 20 days of rehabilitation activity and a two-year alcohol treatment programme, and made to pay £239 in costs and a surcharge. She was banned from driving for 28 months.
Sentencing, JP Ian Williams told Swift: “This was a serious offence. There were three children in the car, two of your own and somebody else’s child.
”You need to accept when a parent takes another child in the car they are responsible for the safety of those people and driving whilst under the influence of alcohol and having an accident with a very high reading is clearly serious.
“I would advise you to look back and reflect, think how you would feel if it was the other way around. ”