A WREXHAM carer has been banned from driving after being found almost twice the legal limit.

Beatrice Sousa, 38, of Gibson Street, had “panicked” when she looked out of the window of her home and could only see one of the two cars that were normally parked outside. Believing it had been stolen, Sousa decided to go out in her other vehicle to look for it and was stopped by police on the street where she lives.

Justin Espie, prosecuting, told Mold Magistrates Court how Sousa had been fully co-operative with officers, who made her take a roadside breath test because they could smell alcohol, with the reading given being 69 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath - the limit being 35mg/100ml.

Melissa Griffiths, defending, said how her client, originally from Portugal, had been living and working in Wrexham for the last three and a half years. Ms Griffiths explained how Sousa hadn’t considered the fact she had been drinking the night before when she made the decision to go searching for the missing vehicle. After looking around the local area, Sousa had been stopped by police when returning home, and later discovered the car had been taken by a neighbour, who was an additional key holder.

Ms Griffiths said her client was full of remorse for what had happened and had not initially realised the offence would result in her being stripped of her driving license.

Magistrates disqualified Sousa from driving for a period of 17 months and fined her £350, while she must also pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £35.