'What happened on the way to work has been a huge wake up call. She has decided enough is enough'

A mum-of-two caught over the drink-drive limit twice in six months has been spared jail after a court heard she turned to alcohol to cope with insomnia caused by the menopause. Helen Meacham, 52, said she suffered sleepless nights and would ''self-medicate' to deal with hot sweats.

Last March, she tested almost four times over the drink-drive limit at 9.30am after she ploughed her VW Passat into the back of another vehicle on her way to work.

It emerged Meacham was caught almost three times over the legal limit at the wheel of the same car at a shopping centre the previous September.

READ MORE: Jay Slater missing in Tenerife LIVE updates as desperate search for teen continues

At Warrington magistrates court Meacham, who works for a health organisation, admitted drink-driving and was ordered to wear a so-called 'sobriety tag' as part of a 12-month community order which will penalise her if she is caught drinking alcohol for the next three months. She was also banned from the road for three years. She had faced up to six months jail under sentencing guidelines.

Last October, Meacham was given ten points on her licence and fined £230 after she admitted being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle. She is now getting counselling for alcohol issues at a private clinic, the court heard. The latest incident took place on March 20 this year after Meacham was involved in a prang near her home in Grappenhall, Warrington.

Craig Welsby, prosecuting, said: "The defendant had driven into the back of another vehicle and police, when dealing with the matter, smelt alcohol on her and asked for a breath specimen. That was received with some difficulty but they eventually got a reading and she was taken to custody where further breath tests were carried out."

The court heard Meacham initially gave a reading of 137 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath but a subsequent test showed 126mg.

During her previous arrest at the Bridge Shopping Centre on September 29 last year she gave a reading of 101mg. The legal alcohol limit for driving is 35mg.

In mitigation, Meacham's solicitor Alison Mafham said: ''She was drinking during the course of the night to help her sleep. The first reason is that she is going through the menopause and is struggling to sleep but there are other underlying reasons for her difficulties. You have seen some reference to her business of 39 years which she ran with her husband. It had gone under during Covid. The stress that has caused led her to be diagnosed with depression and she was being treated for that.

“Herself and her husband have both lost their parents in a relatively short space of time. She is a lady who was going through an awful lot at the time and she started to drink during the night to help her sleep.

“On this occasion she had fallen asleep eventually and got up and driven to work. It has been a huge wake up call. She has decided enough is enough and she no longer drinks."

Magistrates also ordered Meacham to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days with the probation service. She was made subject to the alcohol monitoring for 90 days, which involves the wearing of an electronic tag, and ordered to pay £199 in costs and victim surcharge.

JP Jane Parkinson told her: "You are not going to custody today, let's get that out of the way straightaway. We have read the report and listened to everything said on your behalf. We are going to follow the recommendations of the report. But you are now disqualified from driving. To drive while disqualified is a very serious offence . That itself can carry a custodial sentence so you must not drive."