Burnham Norton woman Lynne Johnson drunk-drove to evade ex-boyfriend

A woman who drunk-drove to evade an “abusive” ex-boyfriend has been handed a lengthy ban.

Lynne Johnson, 50, of Jewels Close in Burnham Norton, appeared at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where she admitted the offence.

The court heard she had crashed her Audi into a hedge at Horningtoft on September 21 last year, with members of the public intervening to check if she was injured.

After the police arrived at the scene, Johnson failed a roadside breath test and was arrested.

She was taken to hospital, where a sample revealed she had 157mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood - nearly double the legal driving limit of 80mg.

In mitigation, duty solicitor George Sorrell described the circumstances around the offence as “somewhat complicated”.

“The defendant drove her car after visiting a former boyfriend in Watton,” he said.

“She went to see him, and they went out for a meal. At that stage, nothing was untoward - but during their time in the restaurant, he started an argument.

“This persisted until they went back to his house, until he became quite violent towards this lady - at which point she felt she had to leave immediately.

“It was the right decision, but she went about it in the wrong way.”

Mr Sorrell said that Johnson, who was of previous good character, suffered minor injuries in the subsequent crash.

“I would like to emphasise that this is a lady of previous impeccable character,” he added.

Magistrates disqualified Johnson from driving for 18 months, although they offered her a drink-driving rehabilitation course which, if completed, will reduce that term by 18 weeks.

She will also pay a £250 fine, £100 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.