A drunk mother got in her car to collect her child and drove into a primary school while she was more than four times over the alcohol limit.
Fiona Kalwa, 53, was banned after a sheriff told her she had been driving “a guided missile around the streets.”
Sheriff William Wood told Kalwa: “You have a very high reading – in excess of four times the legal limit – and it is an aggravating factor that you were on your way to collect your son at the time.
“You were willing to drive in that condition with a child in your car. You clearly have an issue with alcohol that needs to be addressed as a matter of priority.”
Perth Sheriff Court was told that the alert was initially raised because a witness expressed concern about a young boy waiting on his own at the school car park.
Fiscal depute Tina Dickie told the court that the boy had been playing badminton at the school and had been waiting in the car park for around two hours.
When officers arrived at 7.10 pm and spoke to him he told them he had finished playing at 5pm and had been waiting for Kalwa to come and collect him.
Kalwa drove into the school grounds ten minutes later and initial checks on her licence revealed that it had been revoked at a previous stage.
Officers said she was unable to drive home and they put her in their vehicle to leave with them. At that stage they noticed a smell of alcohol coming from her and she failed a breath test.
Kalwa was then arrested and taken to Perth Police station where the lower reading she gave was still well over four times the limit.
Solicitor Alison McKay, defending, said: “She is absolutely horrified by her behaviour and is aware of the potential consequences if she had not come to the attention of the police.”
The sheriff banned Kalwa from driving for two years and placed her under social work supervision for 18 months, with a requirement to get alcohol treatment. She was also ordered to carry out 180 hours unpaid work as part of a community payback order.
Kalwa, High Street, Errol, admitted drink driving in Viewlands Road West, Perth, and at the city’s Oakbank Primary School car park on 14 May this year. Her reading was 94 mics, compared to the 22 mics limit.