A RYDE woman twice over the drink-drive limit, crashed her car and nearly lost her ear through injury.

Grace Downer, of High Park Road, appeared before the Isle of Wight Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday (July 20).

The 22-year-old admitted drink driving, on March 13.

Prosecutor, Liz Miller, told the court police had received a call from the ambulance service, notifying them of a single-vehicle collision near Ashey Road.

She said, when they attended, they found a Renault Twingo had left the road on a right-hand bend, gone over a hedge and into a field.

Ms Miller said the car had rolled and ended up on its roof, and the driver, Downer, had suffered a minor head injury.

The court heard how Downer told police she drove round the bend and lost control.

Following a positive roadside breath test reading, Downer was arrested and taken to hospital.

Ms Miller said she was later taken into custody, where she registered 203 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit is 80.

Oscar Vincent, defending, said Downer was of previously good character.

He said she worked full time as a community carer, and had worked five nights in a row providing intensive specialist care to people with challenging needs.

Mr Vincent said it had been five days of sleep deprivation and stress, and she had no time to eat on the day of the incident.

She had consumed alcohol with a flat mate, and lost track of how much she drank.

Mr Vincent said she was fully co-operative with police, and nearly lost her left ear through a severe laceration.

He said surgery saw it stitched back on, and Downer had been in a state of shock, but still provided officers with a blood sample for analysis.

Downer was disqualified from driving for 22 months and fined £425.

She was ordered to pay costs of £85 and a £43 surcharge.