A Perthshire drink-driver has admitted turning to the bottle following the death of her husband.
Perth Sheriff Court heard Mary Kirkpatrick had been ”struggling to cope” with her grief when she was caught behind the wheel while nearly twice the legal limit this year.
However, since her arrest, the 47-year-old, of Mapledene Road, Scone, has now sought the necessary help and is ”turning her life around”, according to her solicitor.
Kirkpatrick was reported to the police by a concerned shop assistant on February 15 this year the day after the fourth anniversary of her husband’s death.
Depute fiscal Nicola Manison said the Co-op worker smelled alcohol when she served the mother-of-two shortly after 3.30pm and was shocked to then witness her leaving in her Skoda Fabia.
”The person that served the accused noticed she was carrying car keys and then saw her get ready to drive off, at which point she noted the car registration plate and called the police,” Ms Manison stated.
Officers went to Kirkpatrick’s family home an hour later, Ms Manison continued. ”The accused stated that she had been driving earlier in the day and a breath test was carried out, which was positive. She was then taken to the police station and a further test was carried out.”
Kirkpatrick pled guilty to driving in Perth Road and Mansfield Road, both Scone, with excess alcohol (66 mics). The maximum limit is 35 mics.
Defence agent John McLaughlin said his client ”deeply regretted her actions”. He noted that she had poured herself a drink when she returned home from the shop but was unsure how that might have affected the reading.
”Since the death of her husband she has struggled to cope,” Mr McLaughlin told the court. ”This was the day after the fourth anniversary of his death. She managed to hold it together on the day but then her son told her he was going to leave school and she couldn’t reason with him.
”She had been hiding her drinking from her family and her mother-in-law, who she had visited before attending the shop on the day of the incident. She has never been in any kind of trouble before.”
Mr McLaughlin added: ”This has come as a huge release to her and she is now accessing help. She has not had a drink since and she is on medication to help with that and also with the emotional upheaval. She has turned her life around.”
The 47-year-old had been due to stand trial today for a separate drink-driving offence, alleging that she drove in Scone’s Perth Road on March 18 with an alcohol reading of 91 mics, but the Crown indicated it would not be proceeding with the case.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis banned Kirkpatrick from holding or obtaining a driving licence for a period of 15 months and ordered her to pay a £600 fine.