King’s Lynn woman in court after reversing into parked car while drink-driving

A woman reversed into another car while drink-driving.

Hana Hewlett, 33, of Weedon Way in Lynn, appeared at the town’s magistrates’ court on Thursday charged with drink-driving.

She committed the offence on July 13, and pleaded guilty in court.

Crown prosecutor Colette Harper told magistrates that Hewlett drove into the car park of Reffley Academy, on Reffley Lane, on that date.

She subsequently walked into the school hall and asked if she was in the right place for a meeting she was due to attend, but was informed she had to drive to the next car park along – which belongs to a nearby community centre.

Hewlett returned to her Peugeot 207, but upon reversing out of her space she hit another parked car. There were people in it at the time, one of whom said: “She just nearly wiped our car out.”

They became suspicious when Hewlett wrote down her insurance details using a white marker pen, and they therefore called the police.

Officers asked Hewlett to perform a breath test upon their arrival, and she was over the legal limit. She had told them straight away that she was going to fail, according to Ms Harper.

Later evidential readings showed that she had 110mcg of alcohol per 100ml of breath in her system. The legal limit is 35mcg.

In mitigation, Hewlett’s solicitor argued that the damage done when Hewlett reversed into the other car was “minimal” – and stressed that he did not want the court to “infer that it was a high speed accident”.

He told magistrates that during the past two years, the defendant has had to leave her previous home to move to West Norfolk, has seen close family members move away, and that she has suffered with some mental health problems.

This contributed to her struggling “on and off” with alcohol issues

“Thankfully on her arrest she started to get help. She is mortified to be in court.”

Magistrates, led by Louise Barber, disqualified Hewlett from driving for 23 months. She was offered a drink-driving rehabilitation course which could see that period reduced if completed.

She was also fined £480, and ordered to pay £105 in legal costs and a £192 victim surcharge.

“We do wish you the very best. I don’t think we will see you back in the court again,” Ms Barber said.