Downham Market woman Evelyn Mugo drunk-drove after learning of grandparents’ Africa death

A woman was caught drink-driving after seeking solace when she learned her grandparents had been killed in Africa.

Evelyn Mugo, 37, of Nelson Avenue in Downham, was spotted by a police officer on the evening of June 30.

They immediately became concerned by her manner of driving, as she was hesitating when exiting junctions and consistently travelling slower than 20mph.

She was eventually pulled over on Priory Road, where the officer discovered that Mugo had multiple passengers in her car.

She failed a roadside breath test and was arrested. While in custody, she provided an evidential sample of 113mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath - more than three times the legal limit to drive of 35mcg.

Mugo pleaded guilty to drink-driving at Lynn Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, where she was disqualified from the roads for 26 months.

She was also fined £576, and will pay a £230 victim surcharge and £85 in court costs.

Mitigating, duty solicitor George Sorrell said Mugo move to England from Kenya last September to work as a carer.

“She does that job very well - she is very highly thought of both by her employer and her patients,” he said.

At the time of her offence, Mugo had just received news that her grandparents had been killed in a “terrible road accident” in Nairobi.

“This made her very depressed,” Mr Sorrell said.

“She doesn’t normally drink a lot, but she sought comfort in it in the company of friends.

“She doesn’t really know why she did this - she knows it was wrong. The decision to drive was very unwise, and places her future in jeopardy.

“The reading was high, and I have explained to her that as a reading gets higher so does the sentence become more severe.”

The solicitor added: “Above all, I am trying to emphasise that it was an offence that was incredibly out of character, and why on that occasion her normal good sense may have deserted her.

“You often have people before you in this court who take a light view of proceedings. I think you can be sure that the defendant isn’t one of them.”

Magistrates offered Mugo a drink-driving rehabilitation course which, if completed, will reduce her ban by 26 weeks.