A WOMAN was fined and given a 40 month driving ban after a domestic assault led to her driving under the influence of alcohol.

Jade Simpson, 35, of Spring Gardens, Barnsley, gave a guilty plea at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

She had been stopped by police on Gainsborough Road, Gainsborough, at 2am on June 15, after they had observed her Vauxhall Astra being driven erratically and crossing the central lane boundary and grass verges.

The court was told how an argument with her then-partner had led to her being assaulted and a ‘fight-or-flight’ reaction in which Simpson got into her car and set off back to Barnsley - despite a later alcohol reading of 62mcg per 100ml of breath.

Taking into account her guilty plea and previous convictions, judge Joanne Hirst said: “It was a reaction to a specific set of circumstances that led her to being in this particular vehicle on this particular night.

“It’s not an offence to be drunk, but your problem is you commit criminal offences when you’ve had a drink.

“I can’t disregard the fact you’ve committed two offences over a ten-year period and there were other ways you could’ve got yourself out of that situation.”

Simpson had previously served an 18 month driving ban in 2012, and in 2007 had failed to provide a specimen for sampling.

She was ordered to pay a £120 fine, £85 costs and a £30 government charge, along with a 40 month driving ban.