A PENSIONER well over twice the drink drive limit as she swerved from side-to-side, as she travelled several miles in a Vauxhall Astra, appeared at an Isle of Wight court.

Karen Needham, of Arthurs Hill, Shanklin, admitted drink driving on April 28.

Police were told the 70-year-old was seen swerving from side-to-side on the road between Ventnor and Wroxall, then towards Shanklin, said Lauren McConnell, prosecuting, at the Isle of Wight Magistrates' Court, on Friday, October 18.

The police were told Needham was seen getting out of her car and walking up Victoria Avenue in Shanklin. When officers arrived, Needham had fallen to the ground and banged her head.

The pensioner initially refused to co-operate with the police when ordered to take a roadside drink drive breath test, but co-operated when arrested and taken to Newport Police Station.

While there, Needham was breath-tested, providing a reading of 97 microgrammes. The legal limit is 35.

Needham has a history of drink drive-related offending. In 2007, she was convicted of drink driving, and in 1996, failed to provide a sample.

Oscar Vincent said his client she was "having a bad day", which stemmed from having unresolved bereavement issues, following the death of her partner during one of the Covid lockdowns.

Needham had been invited for lunch by a friend, in Ventnor, and, when it was time to return home, she said she "felt fine to drive home".

"She later realised she should not have done," explained Mr Vincent.

"She has no recollection of her refusal in providing a roadside test, due to the head injury she suffered at the time, but co-operated fully with the arrest."

Magistrates ordered a report on Needham, keeping all sentencing options available, including imprisonment, and bailed her to reappear on January 3 next year.