Thursday 12 November 2009

Driving ban for drunken mobility scooter woman

Driving ban for drunken mobility scooter woman
Thursday, January 15, 2009
A woman was banned from driving after she stole a supermarket mobility scooter for a 10-mile journey home following a drunken night out.
Amanda Leaff took the buggy - capable of a maximum speed of 2.4mph - from an Asda store in Chadderton and planned to drive through Manchester city centre to her address in Stretford.
Oldham Magistrates' Court was told she used the vehicle to save on a taxi fare.
An off-duty police officer spotted Leaff, 46, driving erratically in Oldham Road, Hollinwood, at around 10.45pm on November 12 last year as she was two-and-a-half miles into her journey.
She was breathalysed and gave a breath alcohol reading of 77mg - the legal limit being 35mg.
The court heard she had been drinking in a pub in Chadderton when the heel of her friend's shoe snapped off.
Leaff decided to take the scooter to give her friend a lift to the friend's house nearby. Two hours later Leaff set off for home - a trip which would have lasted at least four hours.
Leaff told the court she intended to return the buggy the following day. She pleaded guilty to driving a mobility scooter while unfit through drink and taking the vehicle without consent.
Magistrates yesterday banned Leaff from driving for 20 months. Chief Inspector Haydn Roberts of Greater Manchester Police's Traffic Network Section said: "It is extremely irresponsible to try and drive any vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
"This woman not only stole the scooter, she proceeded to try and drive it while over the legal alcohol limit down a main road. She not only put herself in danger but also other members of the public."
An Asda spokesman said: "We're disappointed that one of our disability scooters was misused in this way. Our scooters are there to provide help while shopping to those customers who need them."

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