PA
A 36-year-old mum from Abergele, Wales, arrived at her seven-year-old daughter's school so drunk that she had her car keys confiscated by the deputy headteacher.
A teaching assistant told deputy head Kate Richards that Julie Fox was 'hammered' when she turned up to pick up her daughter, Laura. Miss Richards took the decision to remove the keys from Fox's BMW telling her 'I can't let you take her'.
The police were called and Ms Fox was found to be almost four times over the legal drink drive limit.
Appearing before magistrates in Llandudno, North Wale, yesterday, the single mum was given an 18-week jail sentence, suspended for two years.
She was also banned from driving for seven years, ordered to carry out 180 hours of unpaid work, have a six-month overnight curfew, and pay £60 costs.
The court was told that Ms Fox had drunk several glasses of white wine before driving to pick up her little girl. A breathalyser showed her to have breath/alcohol of 130mg in 100ml, with the legal limit being. 35mg.
Fox reportedly pleaded with Kate Richards not to call the police, saying: 'I'm in trouble - I'm for prison now.'
The drink driving offence was not her first, and the court heard she had been caught before with a child in her vehicle. Prosecutors told the court that in March 2007 Ms Fox appeared to be drunk when her car collided with a van at Colwyn Bay, North Wales.
Her defence said that Fox turned to drink when problems arose, but had pleaded guilty from the outset.
What do you think? Are you surprised at the number of drunk-driving mums in the news?