The manager of a Dereham service station, who holds a licence to sell drink, was this week banned from the roads for three years after she admitted driving while over the alcohol limit.

The manager of a Dereham service station, who holds a licence to sell drink, was this week banned from the roads for three years after she admitted driving while over the alcohol limit.

Christina Spacey, 48, was stopped by police in Dereham at 12.30am on April 20 because she was driving her Ford Fiesta car in an erratic manner along London Road and Yaxham Road.

She took a positive roadside breath test and a second test at a Norwich police station revealed 135 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, the legal limit being 35, magistrates at Swaffham were told.

Spacey, of Old Hall Road, Dereham, who has been manager of the Lynn Hill service station on Yaxham Road for 21 years, admitted the offence. She was told by chairman of the bench, Jan Smith, that the alcohol reading was the highest she had come across from a defendant in a long time. Spacey was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and told to pay �60 costs.

Mrs Smith told Spacey that because she was manager of a garage that sold alcohol in its shop and she held the liquor licence, the details of the case would be reported to the local authority.

Susanna Chowdhury, prosecuting, told the court that Spacey and her husband walked to the pub on April 19 where she drank four half pints of lager during the lunchtime visit. They walked home, had lunch when they shared a bottle of wine, and then watched the televised cup match between Manchester United and Everton. The couple argued during the game and Mr Spacey left the home. Later that evening Spacey walked back to the pub to look for her husband. She met friends there and stayed until midnight.

The court heard that at the end of the evening she made a 'fateful decision' to get into her car and drive home.

Richard Bayliss, defending, said his client found herself to be a 'fish out of water' by her appearance in court because she had never had a point on her licence. She was thoroughly ashamed of the incident. She was the only person in the car and fortunately there was no accident.

The court heard that Spacey worked full-time at the Lynn Hill service on Yaxham Road where she holds the alcohol sales licence in the garage shop.

The court heard that her driving ban would be reduced by 25 per cent if she successfully completes a drink-driving rehabilitation course that she agreed to take.