A CARE worker who drove erratically then refused to provide drink-drive samples — claiming her slurred speech was caused by nerves and that she had taken 100 Diazepam tablets — was branded a liar by Island magistrates.

Lorraine Mildred Daniels admitted failing to provide a drink-drive specimen for analysis at the Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth, on the night of September 17.

After considering a report on her, magistrates said her offence was so serious it warranted handing the 61-year-old, of The Broadway, Totland, eight weeks' imprisonment, suspended for a year.

A member of the public, who saw Daniels driving erratically — swerving across Copnor Road, Portsmouth — called the police.

Officers found Daniels pulled up outside a pub, slumped at the wheel, with keys in the ignition and the engine running.

"Officers struggled to get any information about her or understand what she was saying, due to her slurred speech. They also found a large, almost empty, bottle of alcohol beside her, plus two more empty alcohol bottles in the car," said Liz Miller, prosecuting, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court on Tuesday (2).

Daniels refused to provide a breath test and was subsequently arrested.

"She became obstructive in custody, claiming she had taken 100 Diazepam tablets, but no evidence of this was found in her vehicle," said Miss Miller.

When taken to hospital, Daniels — with a previous drink-drive conviction to her name — then refused to provide blood samples.

For Daniels, Amy Hosell said her client went to the mainland following the breakdown of a relationship and, on her return home, after more than 100 miles of driving, she claimed she reached down to pick up a leaking whisky bottle and an orange drink rolling about in the car.

"She accepts this would have caused poor driving, by bending down, but she didn't want drink going all over the car," said Miss Hosell.

"When she refused to give the breath specimen, she was in the wrong frame of mind. She had a meltdown.

"She said she didn't have a drink that day and the smell of alcohol came from the leaking bottle. Her speech was slurred because of her anxiety.

"There were clearly deficiencies in her decision making, which she accepts.

"She is someone clearly struggling with her mental health — but she is now taking steps to address this."

When sentencing Daniels, presiding magistrate, Fay Seabourne, said: "You deliberately refused to give any samples — breath at the police station and blood at the hospital.

"A member of the public was so concerned about the standard of your driving, he found it necessary to report it to the police.

"Your speech was so slurred the police couldn't understand what you were saying.

"You said you slurred because you were nervous. We think it was because you were intoxicated.

"Reaching for the bottles rolling around as an excuse for your poor standard of driving, right at the end of a long journey, lacks credibility.

"There seems to to have been a lack of acknowledgement on your part about the harm and seriousness that could've caused.

"It seems to us it was more by luck than judgement there wasn't an accident.

"You lied about the overdose and you wasted precious NHS resources through your lies.

"This puts the credibility of other things you said into question."

Daniels was also banned from driving for 32 months, with £85 costs and a £128 victim surcharge.