A former marketing high-flyer ploughed her Range Rover into parked cars outside a village pub after drinking with friends – then drove home just over two miles away.
Klara Lettavovora, 43, was almost three times the drink-drive limit when she left The Lord Collingwood pub in Upper Poppleton, got behind the wheel of her 4×4 vehicle and collided with parked cars, causing damage to each of them, York Magistrates’ Court heard.
Prosecutor Kaye Barnard said that Lettavovora then drove to her home in Acomb, just five minutes away.
Police caught up with her and a drink-drive test revealed she had 103mcg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. The legal alcohol limit is 35mcg.
Lettavovora, of Norman Drive, Acomb, was charged with driving over the prescribed alcohol limit and admitted the offence, which occurred on 22 January. She appeared for sentence yesterday (Wednesday).
Her solicitor Lottie Monks said the mother-of-three had made a “very stupid mistake” by getting behind the wheel after so many drinks.
“She bumped into some friends unexpectedly in the pub and drank more than she expected to and made the foolish decision to drive home – only a five-minute drive,” added Ms Monks.
She said that Lettavovora did not have an alcohol problem and was not even a regular drinker.
Lettavovora, whose partner runs a building company, had given up her successful career in marketing to look after her children.
District judge Adrian Lower told Lettavovora that her decision to drive with such a high level of alcohol in her system was a “very stupid mistake”.
He added: “You are otherwise a law-abiding person who clearly has had a successful career…and I am sure you are pro-social.
“What happened on 22 January is that you bumped into some friends and you began drinking, and you knew that you were going to drive, and you kept drinking alcohol to the point that when police stopped you, you were found to be almost three times the drink-drive limit.
“You must have realised very quickly that you weren’t really fit to drive after you had been drinking because you were colliding with parked cars at the public house.
“This is so foolish as you could so easily have booked a taxi to get yourself wherever you needed to get to.”
However, the judge said the incident was “completely out of character” for Lettavovora, adding: “I’d like to think this is a one-off and it’s not going to be repeated.”
He said he was satisfied that the insurance claims for the damaged cars would be settled forthwith.
Lettavovora was given a 14-month community order with 100 hours of unpaid work. She was given a two-year driving ban and ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs, along with a £114 statutory surcharge.
The judge made an exclusion order banning her from The Lord Collingwood pub for the next 14 months.