Drink-drive mum Victoria Burrell-Corey spared jail term

May 28 2009 by Brian Daniel, The Journal

A MOTHER who drove with her six-year-old daughter in the car while almost four times the legal alcohol limit was spared jail yesterday.

British Airways air hostess Victoria Burrell-Corey, 38, of Thropton, near Rothbury, attempted to drive her child to school the morning after drinking a bottle of wine, a bottle of champagne and a brandy nightcap, to celebrate her birthday.

Burrell-Corey's car was seen being driven erratically and swerving onto the wrong side of the road, putting other motorists at risk at a busy time of the day. She was stopped by police and gave a reading of 132 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, almost the four times the legal alcohol limit of 35mg.

But despite Alnwick magistrates yesterday saying their sentencing guidelines required them to send Burrell-Corey to prison for 18 weeks, she was instead ordered to pay £1,845 and given a three-year driving ban.

The defendant’s actions last night came under fire from road safety campaign group Brake, which labelled it “shocking” a mother would “put her daughter’s life at risk”.

Burrell-Corey, of Ryehill Cottages, had pleaded guilty to driving with excess alcohol.

The court heard the defendant was celebrating her birthday at the Longhoughton home of her mother and stepfather, who run the business Proudlocks, on the evening of May 12.

She drank a bottle of wine and a bottle of champagne, and ate little of a meal.

Burrell-Corey had a brandy nightcap then went to bed. The next morning she felt well enough to drive so set off to Thropton to take her daughter to school.

But at 8.50am, police spotted her Suzuki Baleno being driven erratically, and swerving onto the wrong side of the road.

The defendant was stopped near the New Moor House crossroads and taken to Alnwick police station where she gave the readings.