A DRINK driver who lost control of her car in Long Sutton, collided with a tree and then bounced off a wall has been given a 15-month driving ban when she appeared in court.

Somerset Magistrates heard that nurse Yvonne Leitch had been drinking due to mental health problems when she got behind the wheel of her car which she could not recall doing.

Her car was left stranded in the middle of the road and when a witness went to help she said: “I take all responsibility, is anyone hurt?”

Leitch, 52, currently living at an address in Tamworth, pleaded guilty to driving a Landrover on the A372 at Stephens Hill after consuming excess alcohol on April 4.

Ben Winzer, prosecuting, said the defendant was driving through Long Sutton when she lost control of her vehicle and left the road.

“She collided head-on with a tree, struck a wall and then came back into the middle of the road,” he said.

“A witness stopped and approached the defendant who was still in the driver’s seat with the keys in her hand and said, “I take all responsibility, is anyone hurt?”

She was breathalysed at the roadside and gave a positive result and when taken into custody gave a sample of urine which was 171mlg when the limit is 107mlg.

Defending solicitor Sam White said that Leitch had worked as a mental health nurse in prison settings, which in turn taken its toll on her own mental health.

“She is currently living in supported accommodation and does not have a clear recollection of getting into her car that night,” he explained.

“She is absolutely mortified and ashamed of getting into the vehicle and when the police attended she took all responsibility and was desperate to know that she had not caused harm to anyone else.”

Alongside the driving disqualification the magistrates fined Leitch £120 with £85 costs and a £48 victim surcharge.