A DRINK driver was pulled over by police with a damaged tyre after hitting a kerb when attempting to drive home after a work night out.

Courtney Richardson told magistrates she had begun driving home after a night at Bodega, because her partner, who was supposed to pick her up, had fallen asleep and was not answering her phone.

Nicola Ritchie, prosecuting, said officers stopped the 28-year-old in Bilford Road at 00.10am on May 19 after they heard her Vauxhall Astra “making strange sounds”.

One of the front tyres had hit a kerb and been damaged, officers later learned.

“The vehicle was not driving slowly but was within the speed limit for that road,” said Miss Ritchie.

Richardson gave a positive roadside breath sample before providing a sample at the station, which showed she had 46 micrograms of alcohol in 100 militres of blood.

The defendant, who represented herself in court last Thursday (June 6), said she had not been stopped by police but instead had already pulled over.

“I was sat having a cigarette,” she said, claiming she had only been driving for three minutes.

Richardson explained she had been at a work launch event at the Mexican bar and restaurant in Foregate Street.

“We had a couple to drink, I never intended on driving, the car was supposed to be picked up.”

She said she had been unable to get hold of her partner who was supposed to be getting her.

Richardson described the Astra as an “old second hand car” which “doesn’t lock from the inside”.

The defendant said she was panicking and weighing up whether to sleep in the car or drive home.

Due to an apparent break-in she heard about in the car park in question the previous night, she chose to try and drive.

“It was the worst decision I could’ve made, but I was desperate,” she continued.

“If I could go back I would never do that again. I am sorry,” she added.

Richardson accepted a charge of driving a motor vehicle when her alcohol level was above the limit.

Ken Knight, chair of the bench, said “the law is very clear about this” but added that he and his colleagues would take into account her lack of previous convictions and a reference from Worcester Arts Workshop.

Richardson, from Greenhill Road, Moseley, was disqualified from driving for 12 months and was ordered to pay fines and costs totalling £380.