Ban for drunk mother who drove children to fish shop to buy chips

Mother-of-four Sarah Louise Gill, 32, from Knaresborough, pulled up outside the closed fish and chip shop and tried to barge the door down after swigging wine with a friend. Two of her children, aged three and six, were in the car and heard their mother launching a stream of expletives at police.

At Harrogate Magistrates’ Court, Chris Rafferty, prosecuting, said two women who were working in the fish shop on July 10 had seen Gill get out of the driver’s seat of her Ford Ka and stagger around, bumping into her two children who had also climbed out.

Gill barged the shop door with her shoulder in a bid to open it. She refused to give a breath test to police and then swore at officers who attempted to get a blood specimen at Harrogate police station following her arrest.

Sarah Waddington, defending, said that, while Gill had a limited record, there had been a conviction in 2003 for a drink-related offence.

Miss Waddington, who said the defendant had suffered recent bereavements, told how Gill had been supporting a friend whose nephew had killed himself and the pair had drunk wine together.

Gill had intended to walk home but it had been raining so she got into her car and stopped to buy chips for the children. Miss Waddington said her client had now quit drinking and was receiving counselling.

Chairwoman of the bench Marion Simon said: “Had you been on your own this would have been bad but the fact that you had two small children in your car makes this situation much worse.”

Gill pleaded guilty to resisting a police officer and failing to provide a specimen for analysis and was banned from driving for three years, given a 12-month community order and ordered to pay £85 in costs.