A DEDICATED care-worker who lost her home and pet dog in a "shocking" year got in her car and drove while more than four times the limit so she would not let people down.

But Dorothy Tratt lost control of the red Audi 80 and smashed through a metal chain link fence before hitting a 6ft concrete post in Worcester's Pheasant Street.

She then reversed and drove towards St Martin's Gate where the car broke down at the junction to City Walls Road, blocking the road, Droitwich magistrates were told.

The accident took place on Thursday, April 19, at around 8.50pm. Police officers were called to the scene and saw the 59-year-old still sitting in her car.

"They formed the view she had been drinking and gave her a roadside breath test which was positive," said Sally Hill, prosecuting.

"Her nose began to bleed from an injury sustained in the accident and she was taken to hospital.

"From there she was taken to the police station where she was breathalised and the reading was 140 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath."

The legal limit is 35mcg.

Tratt, of Cranham Drive, Warndon, Worcester, admitted driving over the limit.

Rob Macrory, defending, said Tratt had spent the last 20 years working in a residential care home looking after the elderly and had never had any brushes with the law in the past.

"Throughout her life she's worked tirelessly and selflessly for other people and for the last five years she's been driving around visiting elderly people at their homes," he said.

"She's not a person who has a big alcohol problem but this incident was the culmination of a shocking year. She lost nearly all her possessions as well as her dog when her houseboat went down and this was very traumatic for her.

"She's still trying to come to terms with this and on the day in question couldn't cope and turned to drink. She went to work out of misguided judgement because she didn't want to let people down."

Tratt was ordered to undergo a 12-month Community Rehabilitation Order and was banned from driving for three years with the opportunity of having the ban reduced, if she takes part in a drink-drivers course. She was also ordered to pay £55 costs.