Chesterfield woman caught drunk behind the wheel after her car caught fire at a petrol station

Ashleigh White had pulled into a petrol station to fill up when the electrical fire broke out, Chesterfield Magistrates’ Court was told on Wednesday, October 14, and firefighters who attended contacted police when they suspected the 25-year-old was over the limit.

Prosecuting, Katherine Wiggan said that White, of Kenyon Road, Hady, Chesterfield, had blown 74mg of alcohol to 100ml of breath, when the legal limit is 35mg, following the incident on July 23.

She told the court: “The offence occurred at around 11.30pm at the Tesco Extra petrol station in Lockoford Lane. Police were called by the fire service following a fire and they suspected that the defendant had been drinking alcohol prior to driving.

“The car had started smoking and he told police that she’d had a couple of pints and in interview she was shocked at the reading but admitted driving.”

White, who has two children aged eight and nine, told the court that she would lose her job in car sales because of the ban, and admitted drink driving when she appeared before the court.

Mitigating, John Wilford said: “She had been for a meal because it was her birthday. She was on her way home and she was low on fuel and she pulled into the petrol station and there was an electric fire in the vehicle and the fire service were called.

White was fined £120 and ordered to pay £85 in costs and a £32 victim surcharge, and was banned from driving for 17 months.

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