Fine and ban for driver found in car at bottom of embankment

A woman discovered slumped across the front seats of her car after it rolled down an embankment was disqualified from driving for two years and fined £500 at Lerwick Sheriff Court today.

Tracey Birrell, 37, of Leaside in Mossbank, was discovered at the Hamarsgarth area with more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in her breath on 10th September.

She was driving in a housing estate and left the road. Her car rolled down a slope and came to rest against a fence before a concerned neighbour called the police.

The court heard Birrell suffers from a neurological disorder which leaves her prone to fits and seizures. She said she was intending to stop driving soon because of her deteriorating condition.

Sheriff Graeme Napier asked her: “Why were you driving anyway?”

She replied: “I don’t even remember driving.”

Banning her from getting back behind the wheel, the sheriff said she would have to resit the driving test before getting her licence back. “It will be up to you whether you apply to resit the test,” he said.