Drink-driver sped wrong way down motorway for 23 miles

A woman who drove 23 miles the wrong way along a motorway after doing a U-turn in the carriageway while twice the drink-drive limit was jailed for nine months yesterday.

Deborah Hunt, 43, drove down the fast lane of the M5, dodging oncoming vehicles before coming to a halt on the hard shoulder.

Mother-of-three Hunt, of Langport, Somerset, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court after admitting dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and driving without insurance.

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The court heard that Hunt, a jobless former financial adviser, was suffering from alcoholism and stress caused by her unemployment and an ongoing battle with her ex-husband over custody of their children.

But Judge Horton said it was “unbelievably fortunate” no-one had been killed or injured by her as she drove at 60mph in the dark after 11pm on July 14 in Somerset.

The court heard she got on at junction 24 and briefly headed south before stunning other drivers by doing a U-turn and driving north.

She was found by police near junction 21, on the hard shoulder struggling to restart the engine of her partner’s Peugeot 806.

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At least 10 motorists called 999 to report her dangerous driving, but her defence barrister, Nigel Askham, said her recollection of events was “hazy”.

The judge told her that he intended, under new legislation, to recommend that she be classified as having a “drink-induced disability” that would mean she would have to prove she was clean before being allowed back on the road.

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