A NEW driver will have to retake her test after she was caught at the wheel while over the limit.

Chelsea Elizabeth Howell, 20, of Broadway, Sandown, admitted being in charge of a vehicle while over the limit when she appeared at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court on Friday.

The court heard police spotted a car in Newport town centre, in the early hours of September 14, with three girls inside — one was slumped in the back seat and another was at the wheel.

Howell said she had only started her car to charge her phone and was not actually driving.

Prosecutor Vivian Ducie said: "At around 2.30am, police driving through the High Street noticed a car parked at the side of the road with its door open and three girls inside.

"One of the girls was slumped over the back seat and another was in the driver's seat on her phone.

"She was tested at the roadside."

Howell had a breath alcohol reading of 67. The legal limit is 35.

Keith Verrinder, defending said: "On the night in question she had been out on the town with her friends. The evening had been going very enjoyably.

"She had parked her car on the High Street with the intention of getting a taxi home and coming back to get it later.

"She had got into the driver's seat and started the engine in order to charge her phone, so she could call herself and her friends a taxi home."

Howell was given ten points on her licence, taking her over the six-point limit for a new driver, and will now have to retake her driving test.

She was also fined £225 and ordered to pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £90.

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