Gran’s car park rampage

Aug 15 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

A SUICIDAL woman caused £20,000 of damage by smashing her Land Rover into parked cars at a supermarket, a court heard.

Grandmother Linda Glover, 60, got into her vehicle after coming out of the Asda superstore in Blyth, Northumberland, in the early hours of April 12 and began ramming it into other vehicles, bollards, fencing and shopping trolleys.

Police officers who arrived at the scene following the 1.10am incident found her vehicle badly damaged, with its headlights smashed, bodywork dented and windows broken. It also had turf and weeds hanging from it.

Glover, who was standing nearby with a man who had taken her keys from her, told the officers she had tried to kill herself and had taken an overdose of sleeping tablets.

But yesterday, magistrates in Bedlington were told she had no recollection of the incident and was mystified about how traces of Temazepam were found in her blood. Glover, a retired nurse of Willow Bridge, Choppington near Ashington, admitted dangerous driving in the Asda car park in Cowpen Road in April this year.

The case was adjourned until Monday when magistrates will consider probation service reports on her suitability for a community sentence. She was also given an interim driving ban.

David Comb, prosecuting, said the police officers who arrived at the car park were told Glover had been driving erratically and colliding with parked vehicles, bollards and shopping trolleys.

A blood sample taken at a police station showed traces of Temazepam and Glover told officers she was on drugs prescribed by her GP.

Steven Chambers, defending, said Glover had retired from her job in the NHS in 2004 because of ill health. She could not explain the presence of Temazepam in her body because she had no access to the drug.

Mr Chambers said she had no recollection of what happened between coming out of the supermarket and waking up later in hospital.

He said: “This has been a traumatic experience for her and she has no explanation for what she did. She is so concerned about it that she has not driven since. She will voluntarily return her licence to the DVLA because she is astonished at what happened.

“There may be a medical issue which has led to what happened here. She realises this is a very serious offence, but it was not intentional or reckless. It was perhaps out of her control.”

The court heard there was no compensation claim for the damage caused, as the matter has been dealt with through insurance.