A Brighton woman crashed her car while drunk and then abandoned it to go to a restaurant with friends.
Alicia Hinton, 45, drove her Audi TT into a lamppost in the Asda car park at Brighton Marina before leaving it to go for a meal.
Minutes earlier she had been seen by a security guard as she crashed her Audi into a parked car at McDonald’s at the Marina and then drove off.
When officers were called they had to go into the restaurant to find Hinton and arrest her at 9.25pm on Monday 15 December.
When she was breathalysed she was found to be more than twice the drink-drive limit. She had only recently completed a ban for drink driving after being convicted of the offence in 2013.
Hinton, of The Strand, Brighton Marina Village, pleaded guilty to drink driving when she appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday (10 February).
She was banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay a £1,177 fine, £85 costs and a £117 victim surcharge.
Chief Inspector Phil Nicholas, from the Surrey and Sussex Roads Policing Unit, said: “Hinton had only recently served a ban for drink driving so it is very disappointing that she has not learnt from her previous behaviour.
“Thankfully no one was hurt in either of Hinton’s crashes but she could have easily knocked someone down or caused a serious accident as she clearly could not control her vehicle.
“We will not tolerate drink driving and I would ask anyone who suspects someone is drink driving to contact us. We need the public’s help to get drink-drivers off the roads.”
A total of 60 people have so far been convicted after being arrested as part of Operation Dragonfly, Sussex Police’s annual December drink and drug driving crackdown.
Stephen Brook, 30, was arrested at 3.50am on Thursday 4 December after he ignored a Give Way sign in Edward Street, Brighton, in his Volkswagen Caddy and nearly hit a police car.
Brook, of Coleman Street, Hanover, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he also appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last Tuesday.
He was banned from driving for 12 months and ordered to pay a £110 fine, £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.
Jason Hanmer-Bennett, 27, was arrested after officers were told he had been refused entry to a casino at 1am on Wednesday 17 December for being drunk and had then driven off from King’s Road, Brighton.
When he was breathalysed he was found to be twice the drink-drive limit. He admitted having drunk five pints of lager before getting into his car.
Hanmer-Bennett, of Chandlers Field Drive, Haywards Heath, pleaded guilty to drink driving when he appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday (11 February).
He was banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay a £350 fine, £85 costs and a £35 victim surcharge.
Kim Hemingway, 46, was arrested at 6.55pm on Wednesday 17 December after she crashed her Mitsubishi Grandis into a lamppost and railings at a pedestrian crossing in Ladies Mile Road, Patcham.
When she got out of the car she had to lean on the vehicle and a paramedic to steady herself. When tested, she was found to be more than two and half times the drink-drive limit.
Hemingway, of Carden Avenue, Brighton, pleaded guilty to drink driving when she appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday.
She was banned from driving for three years and ordered to pay a £500 fine, £85 costs and a £50 victim surcharge.
I guess these are the sorts of drivers who are driving at 56mph on Viaduct Road and crashing into the plant tubs